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Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sauce & Nuggets

September 3, 2013

Is there anything tastier than Chick-fil-a nuggets and sauce? Now you can make your own homemade Chick-fil-a sauce and nuggets!
Is there anything tastier than Chick-fil-a nuggets and sauce? Now you can make your own homemade Chick-fil-a sauce and nuggets! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

I grew up eating at Chick-Fil-A.  It was one of the few restaurants in our small local mall, along with a Burger King, a Pizza Hut, and a restaurant called “Hot Dogs and More” (guess what they served!).  My grandmother called it “Chick-a-fil” for some reason and I recall always thinking that their logo was really bizarre (for some reason it did not compute with my young mind that it was a black and white line drawing of a chicken’s head).  Guess what?  Chick-Fil-A is the only one of the aforementioned restaurants that is still at said local mall.

It was one of the place that my friends and I frequented in high school, the place where I learned to love waffle fries and real lemonade.  When I worked at Chuck E. Cheese’s sometimes I would go to Chick-Fil-A between school and work and eat delicious chicken in my car. People watching at the tables in the mall is always fun, so Chick-Fil-A was a perfect place to stop when shopping.

Imagine my distress when Philip announced when we were dating that he didn’t eat Chick-Fil-A, declaring it “girl food” (he said the same thing about Glen-Gene Deli).  It took a long time, but he finally wore down.  I still remember how shocked I was the first time that I mentioned while we were out shopping that I was hungry and Philip asked me if I wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A.  What?  He was a believer.  Finally.
Is there anything tastier than Chick-fil-a nuggets and sauce? Now you can make your own homemade Chick-fil-a sauce and nuggets! | Recipe from Chattavore.com
I’ve been a lover of honey mustard for a long time, but I’ve always, always despised the honey mustard at CFA.  It’s weird.  For a while, they had a creamy honey mustard that was a salad dressing that I really, really liked, but then they changed that too and I was stuck with eating ketchup or barbecue sauce, which just isn’t the same (by the way, I’ve always been more of a Chick-Fil-A sandwich lover because the pickles and that buttered bun rock my world, but I am a fry dipper).  Die-hard, old school CFA fans love the Polynesian sauce, but it never did much for me.  Then our friends told us about Chick-Fil-A sauce.

I guess it had been a long time since we’d been, or maybe we just didn’t know to ask….but when they told us we were like, “Huh?” We hurried to the nearest Chick-Fil-A (well, within a couple of weeks anyway) and asked for some.  And wow.  Honey mustard and barbecue saucey awesomeness.  For a long time I wasn’t too sure about replicating it at home, but then one day I happened to have some homemade honey mustard and some homemade barbecue sauce in the fridge.  I mixed them together a little at a a time and, well, there you go – homemade Chick-fil-a sauce.

Now, you need something to dip in your homemade Chick-fil-a sauce, so I give you chicken nuggets. My chicken nuggets are much crisper than Chick-Fil-A’s, probably because they fry their chicken in a pressure cooker.  I own a pressure cooker but pressure cooker frying in a home pressure cooker is way unsafe (as in, it’s in violation of the safety guidelines set forth in the user manual).  I just shallow fry.  They aren’t authentic, but they’re crispy and delicious and I don’t have to leave my house to eat them.  They’re delicious dipped in homemade Chick-fil-a sauce. I think they’ll do!

These homemade chicken nuggets and homemade Chick-fil-a sauce will satisfy your Chick-fil-a craving!

By the way, please remember that Chattavore is not a place to air your personal beliefs beyond food.  There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Chick-Fil-A in the last couple of years.  If you are a “boycotter” then you can look at this as a way to have delicious Chick-Fil-A style food without having to go there.  If you still eat there, then you can look at this as a way to have your Chick-Fil-A on Sunday.  Please refrain from commenting on Chick-Fil-A’s views here.  It’s about the food.  Negative comments will be deleted (see my comments policy if you have any questions!).
Is there anything tastier than Chick-fil-a nuggets and sauce? Now you can make your own homemade Chick-fil-a sauce and nuggets! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Mary

Yield: 4 servings

Chicken Nuggets and Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sauce

1 hr, 15 Prep Time:

1 hr, 15 Total Time:

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Ingredients

    For the Chick-Fil-A Sauce
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • dash paprika (smoked if you have it!)
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • For the Chicken Nuggets
  • 1lb chicken breasts
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • dash hot sauce or sriracha (optional)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt (I used kosher)
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprkia
  • canola oil

Instructions

  1. Make the Chick-Fil-A sauce: Whisk all ingredients together until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve!
  2. Cut the chicken into 1-inch wide strips, then cut the strips into 1-inch chunks. Place in a bowl or storage bag and cover with the buttermilk. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
  3. Set two cooling racks over two baking sheets, placing layers of paper towels under one. Pour about an inch of oil into a medium skillet and preheat over medium.
  4. Whisk the flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika together in a large bowl. Use tongs to remove the chicken from the buttermilk, allowing the excess buttermilk to drip off, and place in the flour mixture. Toss to coat. One at a time, dip each piece of chicken back into the buttermilk, coat completely with the flour mixture, and place on a cooling rack.
  5. Place half of the chicken pieces into the skillet and cook until browned on the bottom, then turn and cook until browned on the top-four to five minutes on each side. Remove to the second cooling rack. Repeat with the second half of the chicken pieces.
  6. Serve immediately with honey mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, or my homemade Chick-Fil-A style sauce.
7.8.1.2
415
https://chattavore.com/homemade-chick-fil-a-sauce/

Is there anything tastier than Chick-fil-a nuggets and sauce? Now you can make your own homemade Chick-fil-a sauce and nuggets! | recipe from Chattavore.com

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Filed Under: By Course, By Main Ingredients, Chicken & Turkey, Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: chicken, main dishes, sauces By Mary // Chattavore 11 Comments

pan pizza // chattavore

Homemade Pan Pizza

1885 Grill

1885 Grill (Chattanooga/St. Elmo)

Comments

  1. Scot says

    September 4, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Wow Glen-Gene Deli...I hadn't thought of that place in years. Is there still one at Northgate? Have lived in Atlanta for over 10 years now but grew up in Hixson, Hidden Harbor represent.
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      September 4, 2013 at 12:25 pm

      The Glen-Gene at Northgate has probably been closed as long as you've been gone, Scot! There is one on 153 now.
      Reply
  2. Kathy says

    September 4, 2013 at 11:22 am

    My son found this recipe a while back on a website called Hilah Cooking. I thought you might be interested in the pickle juice marinade. :) Chick-Fil-A Copycat Prep time 40 mins Cook time 5 mins Total time 45 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients • 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast • ¼ cup pickle juice (sour dill is my favorite) • 1 egg • ¼ cup milk • ½ cup flour • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar • ½ teaspoon paprika • ½ teaspoon salt • ¼ teaspoon black pepper • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder • ¼ teaspoon celery salt • ¼ teaspoon dried basil • Optional: up to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper for a spicy sandwich • Oil for frying (about a cup) • For serving: Buns (buttered and toasted) and pickle slices! Instructions 1. Wrap the chicken loosely between plastic wrap and pound gently with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until about ½ inch thick all around. 2. Cut into two pieces, as even as possible. 3. Marinate in the pickle juice for 30 minutes to one hour (add a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce now for a spicy sandwich). 4. Beat the egg with the milk in a bowl. 5. Combine the flour, sugar, and spices in another bowl. 6. Dip the chicken pieces each into the egg on both sides, then coat in flour on both sides. 7. Heat the oil in a skillet (1/2 inch deep) to about 345-350. 8. Fry each cutlet for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. 9. Blot on paper and serve on toasted buns with pickle slices. Notes I’ve used peanut oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, and grapeseed oil all with fine results. Peanut oil is what CFA uses, I believe. Also, if you’d prefer to bake: substitute bread crumbs (Panko if you got em) for the flour and coat as directed. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      September 4, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      I've heard of that, Kathy!
      Reply
  3. Allison says

    January 9, 2014 at 11:18 am

    I was googling for the recipe. Yours looks the best! I can't wait to try it! Do you have a You Tube site?
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      January 9, 2014 at 4:35 pm

      I do, but haven't posted to it in a very long time. Just search for chattavore. :)
      Reply
  4. bigmommakat says

    June 14, 2015 at 4:20 am

    you may delete this comment because it will probably seem negative to you, but here goes...the photo of your homemade chicken nuggets look absolutely yummy. the problem is the recipe ingredients. i am a southern gal who has been cooking for too many years to count. honesty, i have never heard of putting powdered sugar in the coating flour mixture. it sounds strange and quite unappetizing. what gives?
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      June 14, 2015 at 7:21 am

      Actually, I don't think of this as a negative comment-when I say negative I mean mean. Yours is a valid question. I thought powdered sugar sounded like an odd ingredient myself, but every recipe that I found for Chick-fil-A chicken had powdered sugar in it, so I gave it a try and it worked! The powdered sugar is almost undetectable and just gives the coating a very faintly sweet flavor, which I didn't realize Chick-fil-A chicken even had until I made it at home. Give it a try and you'll see...and if it's just too weird for you, it won't affect the recipe too much if you leave it out!
      Reply
    • Chattavore says

      June 14, 2015 at 2:22 pm

      Another thing...there's a lot of salt in the recipe so the powdered sugar offsets that a little bit. If you leave out the sugar reduce the salt as well!
      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Chattavore's Top 10 in 2014 - Chattavore says:
    February 6, 2015 at 8:25 pm
    […] Chicken Nuggets and Homemade Chick-fil-a Sauce 2. Quick Southern Green Beans 1. Fried Rice and Japanese White […]
    Reply
  2. Pan Fried Honey BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger - Chattavore says:
    May 22, 2015 at 6:01 am
    […] how well the burger holds together. In this case, a creamy honey BBQ sauce (which is really just my Chick-Fil-A sauce copycat recipe), caramelized onions, and bacon (crumbled and tucked under the melted cheese) work together for a […]
    Reply

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About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

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