We were in Edinburgh the other day enjoying some culcha (actually The Jim Henson Muppet Show which I may have enjoyed more than Babybear) and when we went to buy lunch I noticed that the Italian deli place had some breaded chicken pieces ready to put into sandwiches.
I hardly need point out that despite doing this baby led weaning business with a pure heart and therefore knowing that I could just buy something to eat when we got there, I had packed enough provisions to sustain Babybear through a journey to the North Pole.
Nevertheless, I just had a sneaking feeling that besides all her porridge pancakes, bread sticks, peaches, banana and cheese, she might enjoy a spot of fried chicken in breadcrumb. I mean, what’s not to like?
So I get home, tell The Husband and his beady wee eyes light up… we’re going to get to eat fried chicken? He’s liking baby led weaning more and more…
So here is my version, which I made and froze yesterday and ate tonight with great success.
Find some manky old bread and whizz it to make breadcrumbs. We had the ends of an old multigrain, which contains all sorts of seeds and therefore plays fast and loose with potential allergens but it was all I had and I was in the mood for experimentation. Fling in a couple of cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika (fast becoming my flavour enhancer of choice now that salt is off the menu) and whizz some more.
Slice up some chicken breast pieces to a goujon-ish size (or finger/chip-sized if you will) and dip them in the breadcrumbs. I thought that I might need some egg to make it stick but it was fine.
I layered them in a tupperware between greaseproof paper and stuck them in the freezer because I didn’t want to eat them immediately and I knew that my chicken pieces were fresh and tonight I heated the oven up to 180 degrees, oiled a baking tray with my trusty oil squisher then put them in for about 25-30 minutes (after another wee squish on top with the oil.)
Serve with loads of lemon juice on top and some peas and sweet potato chips and you are laughing (particularly at the baby, who still doesn’t have much of a pincer grip and spent much of the time chasing petits pois round her highchair tray.)
If anything, they were probably a bit overcooked by the time they came out but I was feeling a bit paranoid about that woman sallymonella at the time, so if you are doing this recipe I’d check to see if they are piping hot in the middle by eating one at about 20 minutes in.
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I love this! You really made me laugh, and it sounds like a great recipe. :) I’m a veggie though (ergo, my daughter is too) so we’ll be be trying it with Quorn for dinner tonight. Thanks!
These are fab – the Cub loved them, so easy and quick and a bit different. Husband got dinner envy ;-)
cheers! they are nice, aren’t they? i still do the same recipe, but now as escalopes AND WITH SOME SALT, mwahahahaaaaaa.
Well my little one has just decided to refuse all purées and mushed up food and I was struggling on ideas for healthy finger food. I’ve just made these breaded chicken fingers and she loves them, what a success. Thank you for posting the recipe!
Is this really suitable from 6 months? My wee man is 6 half months.
Also would like to know as I wanna make it. But bub has no teeth and is six and a half months??
It was for my children, yes. It’s just breadcrumbs and chicken, really. They’re nice and soft, but also remember that there are plenty of teeth under those gums. We’ve had babies who’ve done BLW who didn’t get teeth for a year, so it’s not something I would worry about overly.
As a nurse practitioner, I highly recommend dark meat chicken (thighs/drumsticks) over breast meat. Dark meat chicken has higher iron content, zinc and vitamin B 12 content. It also has a higher fat content, which is desirable for infants- human breast milk is almost 50% fat as brain matter is mostly fat.
oh good, that was always the bit that my children preferred anyway, as you can see under the heading ‘chicken’. thanks!
Do you use cooked chicken or raw chicken to make these?
Raw, you’re frying or baking them. SO delicious. And a bit of parmesan in the breadcrumbs is extra good.
I love this recipe! We are just starting BLW with our 6 1/2 month old… are foods as small as peas or beans OK? I’m worried about something that small and choking.
Sounds great I’m going to try this. Can you tell me about “porridge pancakes” though? What are they and how do you make them?
PS Did you defrost before baking the chicken?
Update: I used chicken thighs as this is meant to be higher in iron and better for them. I tried 20 mins but felt that this was overcooked so now trying 15. Guess they are that much thinner than chicken breast. I was amazed at how well the crumb stuck with no egg and it stores beautifully in a plastic bag so that I can freshly coat and then cook when I want.
Hi there, love the sound of these and will be making them pronto tomorrow :) Do you reckon freeze raw and then cook from frozen, rather than cooking and then freezing?
Hi,
Did anyone find out if you freeze raw or cooked?
Thanks
I froze them raw, because if not the breadcrumbs would get overcooked.