Crispy Lemon Chicken Goujons

A quick and tasty tea-time treat of juicy chicken thigh strips in a lemony crispy crust, perfect for dipping or putting in wraps.

They’re oven baked not fried, and only take ten minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook. Make a few batches and pop them in the freezer for playdate teas.

You might be put off by the potential mess with making this recipe, but I picked up a brilliant tip at The Waitrose Cookery School recently. We were making Chicken Katsu as part of a Japanese Cookery Day and were instructed to have a “dry hand” and a “wet hand”.

So I used my right hand for dunking the chicken in beaten egg, and my left for the breadcrumb coating. This means you don’t end up with breadcrumb crusted fingers.

If you’re feeling brave, you could even get the kids in the kitchen to help you. Good luck getting them to remember the wet hand, dry hand rule though 😉

Crispy Lemon Chicken Goujons
Feeds 4-6 children
prep time: 10 mins
cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken thigh fillets
4 tbsp Mayonnaise
100g Panko Breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zest only

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200 fan/gas 6 and grease a baking sheet. Trim any large chunks of fat/gristle off the thigh fillets and then cut into strips.

2. Put the mayonnaise and panko breadcrumbs into separate tubs and zest half a lemon into one and mix, and then the same with the breadcrumbs. You can stir a touch of salt and pepper into each too.

3. Using one hand pick up a chicken strip and then dunk and roll in the mayo, making sure it’s completely coated and then drop it into the tub of breadcrumbs. Give it a shake and then using your other hand turn it over to make sure it’s thoroughly  covered in breadcrumbs. Place it onto the baking sheet and repeat until all your goujons are prepared.

4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Pop on a sheet of kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil and then serve with salad and wraps or steamed vegetables and baby new potatoes.

The verdict

I served ours up alongside green beans, broccoli and baby new potatoes tossed in my lemon and mint pesto with an extra drizzle of olive oil. I made a vegetarian version for Matthew using frozen Quorn fillets but following exactly the same process.

Both he and Arlo adored this meal on Sunday night, but poor Sam had a tummy bug so just watched from the sidelines.

Using mayonnaise instead of beaten egg is a great little store cupboard shortcut, and I think gives a juicier result. Using thigh meat also helps, but feel free to use chicken breast if your kids prefer it.

Lovely Lemons…

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m having an extended lemon moment just now. It just brings so much sunshine to the table – light and zingy can only be a good thing right?

If you’re a fan of lemons here are some more citrus-tastic recipes from here and around the web for you to check out…

• Lemon, honey & mustard chicken drumsticks
• Lemon and Leek Spaghetti with Crispy Bacon
• Chicken with Lemon Sauce
• Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli in Lemon and Sage Butter
• Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

What are your favourite summer ingredients? Let me know in the comments below 🙂