Copy cat Chick-fil-A nuggets

Photo Credit: Ecstatic Mark

Anyone here a Chick-fil-A fan?   I have to admit that I am a HUGE fan.  I'm not usually that into breaded chicken, but the chicken and Chick-fil-A is something special.  I've never been able to figure out just what it was until recently when I read about a Chick-fil-A copycat recipe over at little bean food storage.  I decided to give her recipe a try.  Then only thing not from my "home store" of food storage in the recipe is the chicken itself.  But, I'm going to give these Thrive chicken nuggets from Lindsey at Why Just Eat a try soon.

These turned out amazing! I could have eaten them all day!  Which is exactly how I feel every time I get these from Chick-fil-A, only these were far less expensive.  The secret ingredient?

Pickle Juice!

Maybe some of you already knew that, but I was shocked.  After making them though, I can totally taste it now when I go to Chick-fil-A!

Here is the recipe I used.  I modified it a bit to include all pantry stable ingredients (expect the chicken).  And yes, I keep pickles in my food storage!  You store what you eat, right?

Copycat Chick-fil-A nuggets:

• Dill pickle juice 
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups whole white wheat flour
• 5 T. Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 2 T. Salt
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 T whole egg powder
• 2 T. Instant milk powder
• 1 1/8 cup water
• 2 cups oil
  

Cut chicken breasts into nugget sized chunks and place in a quart size ziploc bag.  Pour in enough pickle juice to nearly fill the bag.  Place bag in the fridge for at least 1 hour (mine was in there for 6+ hours).

Mix flour, sugar, pepper, salt and paprika in a shallow bowl.

A few minutes before you are ready to make the nuggets, heat the oil in a large sauce pan (or deep fryer if you have one) to 375 degrees over medium high heat.


Mix the egg powder, milk powder and water in a bowl.  Remove a few pieces of the chicken from pickle juice and place in milk mixture.  Let them sit for a few seconds, then remove and dip in flour mixture.  Dip them quickly in the milk mixture a 2nd time and then roll in the flour mixture again.  Drop them into the hot oil and cook until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side).

If any of you try them, I'd love to know what you think!

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