No images? Click here Homemade chicken McNuggets with sweet 'n' sour sauceMcDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are iconic. Next to French fries, nuggets go hand-in-hand with fun times and Happy Meal toys. But they’re also delicious in their own right, with curiously uniform meat, a deeply savory and salty flavor, and crisp exterior (assuming they haven't gotten overly steamy inside their box). Those qualities make reverse-engineering McNuggets a tall task. Fortunately, McDonald’s publicly lists every ingredient in their food products on their website, so that was a pretty good place to start. True to the original, the nuggets start with chicken thighs, and are fortified with plenty of seasoning. To replicate the crisp, crunchy coating, they're dredged in a dry mixture of wheat flour and cornstarch before double dipping them in a batter. They get double fried, which removes more water from the exterior than a single fry does, making the coating extra-crispy. McNugget clones wouldn’t be complete without a sauce. For this rendition, we went in the sweet and sour direction. Apricot jam and white vinegar are key ingredients, as well as a few sneaky dashes of soy sauce and yellow mustard for color and spicy tang. The kitchen essential Wire Cooling Rack A wire rack is essential to keep the nuggets crisp without getting greasy during the double-fry process. More Nostalgic, All-American Classics |