Chicken nugget - Definition and Overview

A chicken nugget is a piece of chicken, containing either whole or a paste of finely minced meat coated in batter or breading, which is then cooked. Fast food restaurants typically deep-fry their nuggets in oil; for personal consumption, baking is the usual method, although many home cooks use home deep-fryer units in order to obtain a more authentic restaurant-style experience.

Chicken nuggets are often made with a high proportion of chicken skin. This is because without the skin, the consistency would not be sticky enough for to hold together. Food labelling law dictates that skin need not be distinguished from the actual meat used to make the nugget. The remainder of the nugget is most likely made up of mechanically recovered meat.

Due to the preparation methods of chicken nuggets, chickens that are raised to be consumed as nuggets may not be as well-treated as poultry meant for other forms of consumption. This is why organisations such as PETA typically do not endorse the consumption of chicken nuggets.

The chicken nugget is often attributed to JJK Booth (1788-1853), a farmer from Wisconsin although this has never been categorically proven.