Herb-Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets are always a good idea.  

My sophomore year of college I ate chicken McNuggets at least once a week.  

"Happy Meal nuggets with honey mustard and a large sweet tea please!" 

"Drive around ma'am."  

My roommate/bestie, Gabe, and I called that "perfect meal", and if we were feeling especially glutenous we'd get an "extremely perfect meal"...the chicken nugget 10 pack.

However, I'm not in college anymore, and there isn't a McDonald's 1/8th of a mile from my apartment up here in Dallas, so I have moved on up in the world of chicken nuggets.  I want to share my recipe for some "grown up" nuggets with y'all, so here they are!

Herb-Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

(Ingredients are at the bottom)

Step 1: Get all of your breading stuff ready.

Chop the herbs and garlic, grate some cheese, and measure everything else.  Then, dump it on a plate:

Step 2: Create an assembly line.

Put all of the chicken tenders on a plate and sprinkle both sides with plenty of salt and pepper.  Crack your eggs and pour the water into a shallow bowl or dish, then lightly beat them together (add some salt and pepper).  Pour 1 cup of flour into a shallow bowl or dish (add some salt and pepper).  Put your breading mixture out (add some salt and pepper).  Finally, pour some vegetable oil into a pan and let it start to heat up.  I put mine on medium heat so that it's hot enough to give the chicken a nice color/make them crispy, but not so hot that it pops me in the eyeballs.  

Here is my assembly line, minus the pan of oil:

Step 3: Prepare the tenders for the frying pan.

Here, we will follow one lucky chicken tender on his journey to the pan...

First, coat both sides with flour.  Remember to shake off the excess flour before you move onto your next step!

Next, dunk him in the egg mixture.

Lastly, give the chicky a good roll in the breading.

Step 4: Fry your chickens!

I don't cook my nuggets completely by frying them.  I just want to give them a nice color, and then I'll finish them off in the oven.  I fried about 3 or 4 at a time, but you can do more or less depending on the size of your pan.  

Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they have a golden color.

Step 5: Place the chicken tenders on a baking sheet and allow them to finish cooking in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes.  I always cut into one when I think they're done just to be sure.  The last thing I want to do is give myself or Austin the bird flu.  

That's what happens when you eat raw chickens, right?

Once the chicken is done...eat it!  I served mine up with homemade mac and cheese, a flaky roll, and some ketchup.  

These suckers are good.  Give 'em a try!

Ingredients:

Breading:

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons dried thyme

5 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Other Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast tenders

Salt and pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs beaten with about 1/4 cup water