UAE · McDonald's UAE · Recipes
Chicken McNuggets-Style Nuggets (Copycat)
A home version of the small, crispy chicken nugget format: seasoned ground chicken shaped into nuggets, frozen firm, coated in a light batter and deep fried golden. The batch makes about 24 nuggets, and the cost comparison below is per 6-piece serving so it can be compared fairly with the restaurant 6-piece portion. It has not been kitchen-tested for this site yet, so treat it as a starting point.
What it costs: restaurant vs home
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Non-VegChicken McNuggets (6 pc) at McDonald's UAE (typical price, from the menu page) | 13 AED |
| This home version, per serving | 6 AED |
| You save | 7 AED (54%) |
Restaurant price is the typical figure from our McDonald's UAE menu data (prices vary by location). Home cost is an estimate for the ingredients listed, per serving.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 450 g | ground chicken | n/a |
| 1 | egg | for the chicken mixture |
| 0.5 tsp | salt | for the chicken mixture |
| 0.25 tsp | black pepper | for the chicken mixture |
| 0.25 tsp | garlic powder | for the chicken mixture |
| 0.25 tsp | onion powder | for the chicken mixture |
| 0.66 cup | cornstarch | for coating |
| 1 cup | plain flour | for the batter |
| 2 tbsp | salted butter | melted, for the batter |
| 1 | egg | for the batter |
| 0.66 cup | water | for the batter |
| 0.5 tsp | salt | for the batter |
| 0.25 tsp | black pepper | for the batter |
| 0.25 tsp | garlic powder | for the batter |
| 0.25 tsp | onion powder | for the batter |
| n/a | canola oil | for deep frying |
Method
- Put the ground chicken, egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a food processor and pulse into a fine paste.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Divide the mixture into 2-tablespoon portions, moisten your hands with water and mould each portion into a nugget shape on the sheet.
- Cover loosely and freeze for about 2 hours, until firm. The nuggets must be firm or the coating will slide off.
- Set out the cornstarch in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl whisk the flour, melted butter, egg, water and batter seasonings into a smooth batter.
- Heat oil in a large pot, about one third full, to about 175 degrees C. Use a frying thermometer and never leave the oil unattended.
- Coat each firm nugget in cornstarch, dust off the excess, then dunk it in the batter until fully coated.
- Fry in batches for about 5 minutes per batch, until crisp, golden and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack for 2 minutes before serving.
Tips
- Freeze the shaped nuggets properly, soft nuggets lose their shape in the batter.
- Do not overcrowd the pot, too many cold nuggets at once drops the oil temperature and makes them soggy.
- Fully fried nuggets freeze well and reheat best in an oven or air fryer, not a microwave.
Recipe credit: adapted in our own words from the tested recipe by The Takeout. Their copycat McNuggets recipe by Patterson Watkins was the reference point for the ground chicken paste, the freeze step and the butter batter here. Our wording and method above are our own. The recipe above is complete as published here; the original is credited only as a reference for readers who want to compare: original tested recipe at The Takeout.
See the full McDonald's UAE menu & prices The original item: Non-VegChicken McNuggets (6 pc)