SPEED-BRINED CHICKEN NUGGETS WITH HONEY DIP

Speed-Brined Chicken Nuggets with Honey Dip image

Provided by Justin Warner, Food Network Star Season 8 Winner

Time 55m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 pound chicken breasts
1 cup lacto-fermented pickle brine, such as Bubbies
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lacto-fermented pickle brine, such as Bubbies
1/4 cup honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peanut oil or another neutral oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons lacto-fermented pickle brine, such as Bubbies

Steps:

For the chicken: Butterfly the breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces.
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the pickle brine, confectioners' sugar and salt. Load the chicken and brine into a cream whipper and charge with two cartridges of nitrous oxide. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.
For the dipping sauce: Meanwhile, whisk together the brine, honey and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Set a deep-fryer or Dutch oven to heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
For the dredge: Combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the pickle brine until it's the texture of semi-wet sand.
Drain the brine by discharging the canister. Open it up and unload the chicken into a colander. Shake the excess brine off the nuggets and dredge in the flour mixture until uniformly coated.
Fry the nuggets in batches until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with the sauce.