Making Dinosaur Nuggets At Home | But Better

Dino Nuggets:

1. Grease a quarter baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line with wax paper and then lightly grease the wax paper. Set aside.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken breasts and roughly chop. Add into a large bowl. Then cut the chicken breasts into ½” (12mm)-thick strips and add to the bowl with the chicken skin. Season with salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, miso paste, and duck or pork fat. Mix together until evenly combined.
3. Using an electric meat grinder, pass the seasoned chicken through the meat grinder into a bowl. Mix together until homogenous.
4. Press the seasoned chicken into an even layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top and then sit  another quarter baking sheet directly onto the surface of the meat.  
5. Using a ¼ sheet tray, lightly spray with cooking spray and line with wax paper. Give the wax paper a light spray, add the chicken, and press evenly into the tray. Press firmly so the chicken is tight. Freeze for 30-45 minutes or until very firm.
6. Fill a 7-8 quart (6.6-7.5L) heavy bottomed pot just over halfway with oil. Heat to 350℉ (175℃). Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack and place that next to the hot oil.
7. Remove the firm block of chicken from the freezer, invert it onto a work surface and peel off the wax paper. Using dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters, punch out as many dinosaurs as possible and place them onto a baking sheet. You can gather up the chicken scraps, reshape, freeze and repeat the process.
8. Return the dino-nuggets to the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.
9. To prepare the dredge: in a medium bowl, add the flour. In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs with a splash of water; and, in a third medium bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs.
10. Remove the dino-nuggets from the freezer and, in batches, gently toss in the flour to evenly coat, shaking off the excess. Then dip into the egg wash and finally add to the panko breadcrumbs, lightly pressing to fully coat.
11. Fry the breaded dino-nuggets in batches, 3-4 at a time, for 5 minutes or until they’re crispy and reach a nicely golden brown color. Drain on the prepared cooling rack and repeat with the remaining nuggets.
12. Serve with the chili crisp BBQ sauce. 

Spicy Chili Crisp Barbecue Sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan, add the onion, sugar, ketchup,  tomato paste, sriracha, molasses, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Whisk to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 
2. As soon as the sauce comes to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until reduced by 25%.
3. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and then mix in the chili crisp. 
4. Set aside until ready to use.