Chicken nuggets

Chicken nuggets are one of the most successful poultry products introduced in the 1980s. Originally, the product was prepared from a single piece of slightly marinated breast meat that was battered and breaded. Later, nuggets made from trimmings, dark meat, skin, mechanically deboned meat and their combinations started to appear on the market. The product is usually prepared by marinating and mixing the meat pieces with a brine solution (i.e., water, salt and flavorings) until all the solution is absorbed. The meat is then put through a forming machine that creates the desired product's shape (i.e., square, oval, dinosaur), followed by battering, breading and deep-fat frying. Frying is done to preserve the product shape, assure breading adherence and to provide the typical crispy texture of the breading.