Chicken goujons- help?

[Maroonie]

I have a 9 year old to cook for who likes chicken goujons. At the moment I buy the supermarket ones because I know he will eat them but I would rather find a healthier alternative made with decent chicken, less sugar/salt and rubbish!
I'm not completely hopeless in the kitchen but I'm no nigella either, does anyone have any recipes that are simple enough for his tastes and won't make me want to throw things out the window...

[Asleeponasunbeam]

Chicken strips/ breast pieces. Smother in mayonnaise. Roll in crushed rice crispier. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Delicious!

[simonthedog]

I make my own. Chicken breast pieces, cover in flour then dip in beaten egg then roll in breadcrumbs, (just a couple of slices whizzed up in the food processor). You can add grated parmesan into the breadcrumbs if you think they'd like it. I fry them in a tiny bit of olive oil then. It's called Mummy's chicken here and is a favourite.

I make a big batch, then freeze them in portion sizes raw. Then i just get out what I need defrost and cook.

[Maroonie]

Thanks, il give them a try
Great tip for making a batch and freezing them too, the time is another reason I end up using the shop bought
Might even be messy fun enough that he'll help make them!

[imip]

To make it even healthier, don't dip in mayo but in natural yoghurt - tastes the same!

[MairzyDoats]

Natural yoghurt tastes absolutely nothing like mayo! Sorry but it just doesn't.

I use cream crackers that I've ground up in the blender, approx 6 with a small garlic clove and a pinch of Chinese 5 spice. Sounds bizarre but DH swears its like a healthy version of KFC!

[imip]

On the chicken goujuns though, you can't tell the difference between Mayo and yoghurt. It's just binding for the biscuits or Rice Krispies and a brilliant substitute as the op wants a healthier alternative.

[Asleeponasunbeam]

Oh, I wasn't suggesting a healthy recipe! Sorry. I'm sure yoghurt works too.

[IDismyname]

What a great idea to use yoghurt to coat stuff before rolling in breadcrumbs. I cannot eat eggs which is the usual stuff to roll the goujons in. I'm going to give it a try this weekend.

Thank you !

[JugglingChaotically]

When freezing, put cling film between the layers. Stops sticking!

[pengymum]

We make these. Sometimes I put spices in the breadcrumbs or herbs rather than parmesan, for a change.

[Maroonie]

These are all great, I think il do some of each and have a taste test!
Thanks everyone

[SavoyCabbage]

You can dip them in milk or egg then cornflour too. Delicious.

[TickledOnion]

I marinade them in lemon juice, then dip in egg, then in a mixture of crushed cornflakes, garlic, paprika and dried herbs. Yum.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

I dip them in whatever's around tbh - milk, egg, yogurt and mayo all work. Essentially you're just looking for a 'glue'.

I always make a massive batch of breadcrumbs and freeze them too - and if you're the type of family who have leftover bread (rare in our house) it's even easier - just stick a breadbag in the freezer and add all the odd heels and bits of stale bread. Then when you have enough or want to make anything breadcrumbed, toast the bread, then whizz it up with a wee bit of parmesan and some herbs. Use what you need then put the rest back in the freezer for next time.

We often have crumbed salmon too, and beaten out crumbed pork.

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

I recently discovered marinading the chicken strips in buttermilk for a few hours, then dipping in a mix of breadcrumbs and paprika. Chicken is super soft and coating all crispy.

[Maroonie]

Am i right in thinking I could do the same thing using fish for a home made fish finger type thing?

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Yep, we do whole salmon fillets but no reason why it wouldn't work with any other type of fish/or smaller bits. Although don't cut the fish too small as it all gets a bit fiddly and breaks easily.

You can breadcrumb practically anything which was very useful as DS has food issues. We were able to use his love of fishfingers to then breadcrumb other food items and now he eats most fish, pork and the aforementioned chicken.

[AnnMumsnet]

may I also suggest crushed/ crumbed up pretzels as the coating instead of breadcrumbs. delish! and try turkey instead of chicken: cheaper!

[DwellsUndertheSink]

flour salt and pepper in a ziplock bag - put all your goujons in and shake it all about. Then dip in egg and have a second ziplock with breadcrumbs and herbs in.

Saves a lot of faff and kids get a kick out of shaking the bags.

Fry or spray with oil and bake.

[WookieCookiee]

yes pork is very good breadcrumbed, and I second the addition of cream crackers - gives an extra crunch. I chop a whole chicken into 8 pieces and do the buttermilk soak for fried chicken night (only it's not fried, it's oven baked, but sounds nicer described as fried).
I usually use flour then egg then breadcrumb, gets a bit messy but tastes very good. I have not tried mayo but have added to the "to try" list.

I also save the end of the bread in the freezer. I cube it and freeze on a tray then bag. It's really handy, works for making meatballs etc as well.

[DwellsUndertheSink]

ritz biscuits also work well....

[Maroonie]

Just wanted to come back and say thanks, made some and he cleaned his plate.
He really enjoyed helping and putting them in a bag worked a treat.