Turkey Nuggets (GF, Egg-Free)

Recently, I re-visited a recipe for turkey nuggets I’ve made many times before. I trialed a few tweaks and they all turned out great!

Original Blog Post and Recipe: https://collectedgoodies.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/turkey-nuggets/

Trials:

1. I used this same “base” recipe to make one pound of ground turkey into turkey nuggets just as the recipe calls for; however, this time I trialed 1 chia egg [made by measuring out 3 TBSP of water, then adding 1 TBSP whole chia seeds to a spice or coffee grinder and blending the seeds to form a flour of sorts, then adding the chia flour to the water, stir well to combine everything completely, and then allow this mixture to rest a moment for the “gel” to form fully before using it as the binder in the Turkey Nugget recipe]. These turned out excellent!
2. I used the “chia egg” described above in another 1 pound batch, this time adding 1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper to the meat mixture, as well as 1/4 tsp called for in the breading. These turned out fabulous. They had some heat. While they aren’t “buffalo” by any means, if you or your loved one is nightshade free and able to handle black pepper, this is a great option and is very flavorful.
3. The next batch, I added celery salt to both the meat (1 tsp) mixture before shaping into nuggets, and to the breading mixture (1/4 tsp) without adjusting the Real Salt already in both. These also turned out tasting GREAT. For my taste buds I like the celery salt version better than the regular version.
4. I tried a batch just exactly like #3 above, only after mixing the meat mixture, shaping it into nuggets and breading it, as outlined in #3 above, for this trial I also sprinkled the sprinkle cheese atop and “tapped” it in before baking.
5. I made #3 above, but didn’t have enough coconut flour to make up another batch of “breading”. I did have about 1/2 the volume which was needed to bread this last batch of the left over breading from the trials outlined above. To this 1/2 batch of breading I added the sprinkle cheese I had made up already. I used this as the breading and it is FABULOUS too. They are all very different flavors but all are nice!

If you try them, be sure to mention which is your favorite in the comments below.

Now I just have to work on an excellent BBQ sauce or dairy-free ranch dressing to go along with these too. One friend recommended making a cranberry sauce dip

Yield: 1.5 to 2 gallon bags frozen nuggets

YIELD: approximately 120 nuggets or approximately one-and-a-half gallons, frozen, nuggets.

BAKE TIME: approximately 15-25 minutes, then flip, then cook another 15-25  minutes.