I grew up eating Chick-fil-A. If a PhD existed in chicken nugget eating, I’d certainly have one. The nuggets at Chick-fil-A are quite unique. Little texture, but a certain flavor you’re hard pressed to find anywhere else. No, the secret ingredient isn’t pickle juice like many people think, it’s actually MSG and A LOT of it, Chick-fil-A most likely uses way more that I do in this recipe. It’s taken me YEARS of experimenting to get this right.
My motivation was quite simple. I have a family of hungry kids. Have you been to Chick-fil-A with your entire clan and checked the receipt? Yes. Sticker shock! These tiny, tasty nuggets hit the pocket book quite fast—so do yourself a favor. Make this recipe at home on a Sunday and completely fool your friends and family!
MSG is added into the brine and coating, you can purchase it here on Amazon or check your local supermarket, it might be in the spice aisle under the name Accent Salt. Chick-fil-A uses a generous amount of MSG in their nuggets – it’s what gives their chicken the extra savoriness or boost of flavor that you usually don’t get with homemade, so if you omit it, it will not taste similar to Chick-fil-A
If you love Chick-fil-A’s Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce, check out my copycat recipe here
it’s my favorite sauce for these nuggets. I also buy frozen waffle fries from the grocery store, if you deep fry them, they will taste just like Chick-fil-A (oven baking or air frying won’t result in the same texture) Heat the oil until 380°F, deep-fry the waffle fries in a few batches until they are light golden, make sure the temp returns to 380°F before frying the next batch.