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Did you know??? Dipper's Nuggets Chicken started in Searcy Arkansas.....

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage

Her obituary was in the paper yesterday.

Norma B. Young died at the age of 101.  She had a very long and deserving obit which can be found at the Daily Citizen or the Democrat-Gazette.  It dwelled quite a bit on her chicken-cooking queen history. 

In 1971 she entered a National Chicken Cooking contest and won it!!  She entered her dipper's nuggets recipe and received several thousand dollars as the winner.

I, along with millions of others, tried and loved the recipe.  The thing about chicken then, however, was that you had to buy the breast with bone still on it and chisel out the nuggets.  There were NO nuggets!  Then you had a little fryer and dipped the nuggets into the hot oil and then into the sauces.  We used a little fondu pot which was fashionable at the time and heated the oil at the table.  Our kids, who were the pickiest eaters, loved them!!  The problem in they gobbled them up so fast it was hard to keep the oil hot enough long enough to fill them up!

Here is my time-worn recipe that has been in my recipe box since 1971 when it was published.  Now you don't have to make them.  Just go to McDonald's and pick up a few! 

Dipper's Nuggets Chicken by Norma B Young

Norma B. Young was a great Searcy citizen.  This blog is a tribute to her from the Seary Sleuths and myself.

 

Show All Comments
Don Thompson
Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

What a nugget of a story. That was interesting especially the recipe clippings. I must admit I have never been a fan of chicken nuggets as found in KFC. The sauces in the recipe sound much more appealing.

Jun 09, 2012 04:29 AM
Anonymous
Debbie Wantulok

I had no idea that Searcy had someone so famous in her history.  Wow!  I am so glad that you shared this with everyone.  Luke likes the popcorn chicken at Sonic.  Real chicken nuggets is better than the nuggest made of parts.  Our crew doesn't mind taking the chicken breast and making strips or nuggets out of them.  They know how its done.  I don't mind letting them either...ha...it all taste good to me.  We have a sweet and sour, homemade sause that we use.  Never used the pot like you were talking...too many in our household...deep fring in huge pots...haha...thanks Ms. Norma for sharing your talent of cooking with the world and thanks Ms. B for connecting us with those recipes!

Jun 09, 2012 02:00 PM
#2
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Don, she must have been a friend of Anita's mother because they were about the same age.  Nuggets seem to be the favorite for kids.  Adults like chomping the whole chicken piece.  LOL

Debbie, those little pots were definitely a fad that didn't last for the very reason you mention.  We had 4 kids and 2 adults around the table and the pot didn't stay hot.  The kids did love the long forks that they used to put the meat in the pot.  Come to think of it, it may have been the prize-winning recipe of Sue Wiseman's, another chicken-cooking queen, that we used more.  It is more worn.  Think I'll put a picture of it on this blog.  Be right back!

Jun 09, 2012 10:14 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Sue Wiseman's Chick Au Due recipe

Sue Wiseman's prize-winning chicken recipe.  You can see it has been used a lot. Sue also entered lots of contests and was a wonderful cook.  She is gone now but her husband, Jack Wiseman, is still in town and was once mayor of Searcy and now does home-inspections.

Jun 09, 2012 10:26 PM
Don Thompson
Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

Now we're cookin'. I like Sue Wiseman's recipe the best. I have never done chicken in the fondue style cooking pot but have done beef in the Mongolian BBQ style. You can tell the age of the teriyaki sauce recipe with MSG.

We need Anita to comment on chicken recipes. I did a Skype video with her last week and she showed me around their campground in Canada. There was a tent devoted to cooking that was very impressive. Her son does all the cooking and won't let anyone in the tent while he's working. He's not cooking chicken though. Too much good Walleye Pike and bass to mess with birds.

 

Jun 09, 2012 11:45 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Don, are you saying MSG is a thing of the past?  I never knew what it was good for anyhow.  If Anita has someone running her out of the kitchen she is on a wonderful vacation.  I dream of being chased out of the kitchen and someone else taking over for me....and cleaning the kitchen up afterwards.  I may have to put up a picture of the kitchen-cooking queens if I can find them.

Jun 10, 2012 01:17 AM
Anonymous
Anita Fuller

YES, my mother WAS a friend of Norma Young....AND more so with Sue Wiseman - probably because of church affiliation.  Mother used lots of Sue's recipes and techniques when she was Director of Food Service at Harding University (then College).....green bean bundles being the one I most remember.

THANKS for all the sauces recipes.  Can hardly wait to get back home and try some of them. 

It was fun Skyping with Don!  Isn't technology amazing?  We had a shore lunch yesterday with you talk about fresh caught walleye!   Last night we decided on spaghetti but tonight will be walleye again as we have our yesterday afte NOON'S catch in the frig.  No pressure on the guys today, and a good thing for we've been having rain off and on since 4:00 a.m. 

Anyone every slept in a tent with a huge rain, lightening, thunder storm over head?  I'll have to admit it was wonderful, as I didn't have to worry about the wind as we do in Arkansas.

 

 

 

Jun 10, 2012 02:45 AM
#7
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Let's have more queen finalists for chicken cooking queen.  Here is 1969 group with Sue Wiseman in the group.

Sue Wiseman finalist 1969

Here are some 1971 finalists. And Sue won!!!!!

Sue Wiseman winner 1971

1973 brought out four Searcy finalists.

1973 Chicken cooking finalists

Jun 10, 2012 04:58 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

So there are the ladies in the magazines that I saved to try the recipes and still have the magazines.  Don't you love the mini-skirts?  What I notice and remember so well is that the ladies were not Sue Wiseman, or Betty Robbins, etc.  They were Mrs. Jack Wiseman and Mrs. Benson Robbins!!  Wouldn't it be cumberson now if my real estate signs had to say Mrs. Rodger W. Duncan?  Times have changed!!!

Jun 10, 2012 05:03 AM
Don Thompson
Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

We men appreciate mini skirts and I need to inform you that those ladies aren't wearing mini skirts.

A mini skirt is defined as a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than 10 cm (4 in) below the buttocks.

Those ladies are conservatively dressed for the time and look very nice.

You have wonderful archived articles, Barbara. Congratulations!

BTW, MSG has been given a bad rap for causing various problems after ingesting. In the past, it has been a food additive as common as salt. Read about it here.

Jun 11, 2012 01:52 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Well, Don, you are right again.  Those were just above the knee skirts and the length for the year was probably dictated by fashion.  Women didn't have the courage to buck fashion.  I can remember my mother fretting about what the skirt length would be for the next season.  It it was shorter she could hem the skirt but if it was longer she was out of luck.

I am giving up MSG after this warning.

Jun 11, 2012 09:27 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

P. S., Don.

Betcha every one of those ladies had on hose!  Now they do not wear hose no matter how unsightly the leg!

Jun 11, 2012 09:29 AM
Anonymous
yet another Searcian

As a side note, Mrs. J Rodney Boland, who is mentioned in the 1973 photo, was once a 2nd grade teacher at McRae Elementary in Searcy. Around 1968 or so.

Jun 12, 2012 09:01 AM
#13
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

yet another Searcian, I do remember Linda Boland teaching.  She is a talented person.

Jun 12, 2012 10:35 AM
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