Pan-Fried Chicken Nuggets

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make chicken nuggets in a skillet? Gather your ingredients. You don't have to use chicken breast — thighs, legs, or even drumsticks work too; just remove the skin from whatever cut you use. Depending on the size of your breast, you may need 1–2 eggs for the breading.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the chicken breast, trim off any membranes, and cut it into long strips no more than 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Feel free to cut it a different way if you prefer.

3. Step 3:

   

   Crack the eggs into a deep bowl and beat them with a fork or whisk for about 1–2 minutes. You don't need to whip them hard — just mix the yolks and whites together well.

4. Step 4:

   

   Crush a bag of potato chips (any flavor) by hand right in the bag. You can use a meat mallet instead, but put the chip bag inside a second bag so the crumbs don't fly all over the counter.

5. Step 5:

   

   Spread the wheat flour on a plate and stir in salt and ground black pepper to taste. Dredge each piece of chicken in the seasoned flour on both sides — mixing the spices into the flour this way saves you from seasoning each piece one by one.

6. Step 6:

   

   Then move each flour-coated piece into the beaten egg.

7. Step 7:

   

   In a deep bowl, mix the crushed chips with the breadcrumbs.

8. Step 8:

   

   Coat each egg-dipped piece of chicken in the chip-and-crumb mixture. This breading turns crispy, tasty, and golden once fried.

9. Step 9:

   

   Bread the rest of the chicken the same way, laying the pieces out on a board or a large plate.

10. Step 10:

    

    Pour the vegetable oil into a skillet and heat it. Bring it up over medium heat until the oil is shimmering-hot, then add the breaded pieces. If the oil isn't hot enough, the breading will soak it up and fall off during frying instead of forming a crisp crust, so don't rush this step! Fry the nuggets on one side for about 2–3 minutes over medium heat, then flip and fry another 2–3 minutes.

11. Step 11:

    

    Transfer the nuggets to a plate lined with paper towels. The paper soaks up the excess grease — especially important if the kids will be eating them too!

12. Step 12:

    

    Serve the golden, fragrant nuggets with ketchup, plain yogurt, or garlic mayo, along with some fresh herbs and vegetables.