This time I decided to try and recreate these Chicken Poppers.
I posted a link to the video on my facebook page, and you can find the original article with full recipes here.
I made the first two options – buffalo and teriyaki, as between two of us there was no way we could eat all three!
Simplicity (was it as easy as it made out on the video?): Yes and no. It was an easy recipe to follow and nothing went drastically wrong, however there are a couple of things that definitely look easier on the video. Firstly, when coating the chicken in the flour mixture, a lot of it falls off when you put them on the baking tray, so you think they are well covered, then turn around and its all slid off (it does seem to do this a little on the video too though). Also, while you are doing this it makes a complete mess. The egg (which there is way too much of – do 1 egg and a bit of milk at a time then make more if you need it) and flour turn into a paste on your hands and it is almost impossible to do it without getting egg or flour everywhere.
I found I had to replace the flour mixture half way through as it had gotten all gloopy from the egg and wouldn’t stick. It didn’t make it more difficult, but it did mean if you have a small kitchen like me, you need to clean up before doing anything else – you can’t just move the bowls to one side and carry on. There is time to do this while the chicken is in the oven, but just plan the time to do this. Also, if you want to make all three, you need 3 frying pans, or a way to keep your poppers warm while cooking the others. I would say each sauce takes about 5 minutes. I managed to make two simultaneously but it was hard to stop the sauces from burning. It needs to be carefully planned and have all your ingredients ready to work well. 3/5 for this.
Success (did they work?): Yes, despite being a bit messy and more chaotic than the video makes out, they both worked and were yummy. Oven temperature and time was fine, chicken didn’t stick and the sauces came out a good consistency. The teriyaki sauce didn’t really coat the chicken in the pan, but I just poured it over at the end and it was fine. I liked how I could make a really small quantity of them as well, perfect for two people. Overall I got something that looked almost identical to the video. 5/5 for this.
Succulence (how did they taste?): Amazing. The bite size pieces were the perfect size and once coated with the sauce they were full of flavour. Also, the sauces tasted exactly like buffalo and teriyaki sauce (I know that might sound obvious but it is amazing how often quantities are wrong on these things and you end up with a loose representation of what you are meant to have). 5/5 for this one too.
Overall: 13/15. These were one of the best Facebook videos I’ve ever tried. Planning is the key to success with these. The recipe is very easy and is pretty much guaranteed to work but if you aren’t organised you’ll end up with a huge mess and a mountain of washing up at the end of it – get that sorted and they are a definite winner.Keep your accompaniment to them simple – I did sweet potato wedges, which took me 5 minutes to chop, season and throw in the oven, a light salad would go great with them too and could be pre-made. Loved how they were a complete change to something I’d normally make at home and I got two very different flavours (so something to keep everyone happy), yet they took very little time to actually prep (5-10 minutes) and used ingredients I already had in my cupboard. Definitely something I will be trying again.