Enjoy dipping your fried chicken into honey? Then, you’re going to LOVE these!!! Because these tender and juicy chicken nuggets are like no other, and taste like they’ve been kissed with honey inside! Game day food worth fighting over!
“Little, golden, delicious, nuggets of goodnesssss….”
Yes. That’s how my hubby described them.
I let him have a couple to try while I continued to fry more, mostly to get him out of the kitchen to stop hovering, and the yummy sounds were never-ending! He kept repeating how they tasted like they were magically infused with honey!
Which had me surprised and a bit confused. I hadn’t added any honey, and thought that, at the least, they would’ve had a taste of molasses along with the tea due to the brown sugar.
But when I finally got to sample one, he was spot on about the flavor! They really did taste of honey!
Which was not a bad thing at all, as we both LOVE our fried chicken of any type drizzled or dunked into pure honey.
These were an INSTANT hit and new favorite, and possibly even better than my “famous” Apple Sweet Tea Barbecued Chicken (that was featured in Taste of Home Magazine)!
These are easy to make but there are a couple steps. So let’s get these babies going!
It starts off with one of the stars of the show that makes these little pieces of chicken so heavenly. A sweet tea concentrate made with brown sugar instead of white!
Due to life’s little jests, I marinated the chicken in the chilled concentrate overnight. I had originally planned on only a few hours, but the lengthy time may have contributed to their surprising outcome! So DO marinate them overnight, or they might not be as good.
I want you to enjoy these the same way that we did!!
Next is your basic remove from the bowl two at a time, coat with seasoned flour, dip into an egg bath, and coat again method. The same as you would always do for fried chicken.
Then, since these are relatively small pieces, I always choose to deep-fry them in enough oil so that they are completely submerged.
Just cook them in several batches until golden brown!
And when no one’s looking, try a piece!!
You did the work. You get the perks! Right?! That’s right.
One package of 6 – 8 chicken thighs goes a LONG way, actually! 16 – 24 hearty pieces! Depending on what size that you are making them.
Which also makes this recipe wonderful when filling a munchie plate for your friends to enjoy while watching the game!
The chicken is already marinated on game day, and you can already have the flour mixed up and ready to go, too!
Before your guests arrive, go ahead and bread them, and pop them into the fridge to chill, uncovered, and the flour will set, too.
Then just heat up some oil, toss them in, and watch how fast everyone gathers in the kitchen once the mouth-watering aromas fill the house!!
My hubby liked his plain. But I reserved a bit of the brown sugar sweet tea concentrate and added it to some barbecue sauce for dipping. It was CRAZY good!!!
But you can provide whatever dippings you think might go well. Honey, maple syrup, buffalo sauce, sweet ‘n sour, or whatever you like!
These were some of THE BEST chunks of chicken we have ever tasted! Like my hubby said, they tasted like they were somehow coated with honey inside!
These Brown Sugar Sweet Tea Fried Chicken Nuggets are going to knock your socks right off! A total game changer for fried chicken that young and old alike are going to be fighting over!
Perfect for lunches, suppers, and total pig-out day while watching the game! Hope you all enjoy!!
Brown Sugar Sweet Tea Fried Chicken Nuggets
Brown Sugar Sweet Tea Fried Chicken Fingers Author: Kelly@wildflourskitchen.com
Ingredients
- 3 cups boiling water
- 2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
- 9 tea bags (*I used Lipton)
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat, sliced in half or thirds
For Egg Bath:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp. sriracha hot sauce
For Seasoned Flour:
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1 Tbl. regular table salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. regular black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp. onion powder
- 3/4 tsp. celery salt
- 3/4 tsp. ground rosemary powder
- 3/4 tsp. dried dill weed
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. dried basil
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. celery seeds
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
Rest of Ingredients:
- peanut or canola oil, enough until pan is filled 1/2" deep
- 1/4 cup reserved sweet tea concentrate
- 1/2 - 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
Make Sweet Tea Concentrate: Add 3 cups water to a large 4-cup measuring pitcher and heat to boiling in the microwave. (*About 5 minutes.) Remove, add tea bags, place a saucer over the top, and steep for 30 minutes. Remove tea bags, add brown sugar, and stir until sugar has dissolved. Let cool, then chill.
In large bowl, add chicken pieces, pour cooled tea mixture over chicken *RESERVING 1/4 cup tea concentrate. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight or several hours.
In a large bowl (*or doubled brown paper lunch sacks), whisk well the Flour Mixture ingredients to evenly mix, (*or twist top of bags closed and shake to mix).
In pie dish, whisk eggs well. Whisk in milk and hot sauce.
Remove each piece of chicken from bowl, let excess marinade drip off, shaking a little, drop into flour mixture. Dredge both sides in bowl or shake well in bags to coat, shake off excess, dip into egg mixture, coating both sides, let excess drip off, then coat again in the flour mixture. Place onto a rack over a baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered for 20 minutes to set.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep fryer or in a large deep frying pan until the oil is very hot and shimmering, but not smoking. Place the chicken pieces into the hot oil, several pieces at a time, leaving enough space in-between pieces so that they are not crowded. This will allow the chicken pieces to properly cook and brown evenly.
Continue to cook over medium heat or slightly lower, turning once or twice, until all sides are golden brown and the meat is thoroughly cooked. (*3 - 4 minutes per side). Remove pieces as you go along and place onto a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet, and cool enough to eat. They will stay hot for quite some time, so there's really no need to keep them warm in the oven. I did mine in 4 batches, and even the first ones cooked were still hot enough.
Dipping Sauce: In small bowl, whisk together reserved 1/4 cup sweet tea concentrate with 1/2 - 1 cup barbecue sauce, as desired for taste and consistency.
Jeanette
Saturday 27th of October 2018
How many tea bags do I use to make the Sweet tea concentrate? Thanks.
Kelly
Sunday 28th of October 2018
Whoops! Sorry about that, Jeanette! It's 9. Recipe is now corrected. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for catching that! :)