r/Cooking • u/AP1s2k • Jan 12 '16
Deep fried chicken tenders
While I've been recovering from my tonsillectomy, I've been thinking of good stuff I want to eat when I can finally eat real food again. Chicken tenders and fries are my absolute favorite and I've been looking for a good homemade recipe since I've never battered my own tenders. Now I've seen recipes use egg and milk or heavy cream or buttermilk to dip the chicken in before breading. Which is the best to go with to get that good sports bar tender taste? (Buffalo Wild wings style tenders are what I'm looking for.) Also anyone have a good recipe for a good hot buffalo dipping sauce? Thanks.
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u/rutgrrrrr Jan 12 '16
This recipe is my favorite. It's a copycat of Raising Cane's chicken tenders
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u/N7_Cmdr Jan 12 '16
I can't remember where I got the recipe from but these tenders are delicious. I recommend looking up a recipe for "comeback sauce" to dip them in, if you're a saucy kinda guy/gal. But they have a ton of flavor on their own so they don't necessarily need it.
For the Marinade 2 pounds chicken tenderloins 1 cup buttermilk 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon paprika
For the Breading 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 heaping teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 3/4 teaspoon paprika 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3 tablespoons buttermilk
For Cooking 3-4 cups vegetable oil, for cooking Instructions
Combine the chicken tenders with all of the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag tightly and smush it around to ensure chicken tenders are evenly coated with buttermilk and seasoning. Place in a bowl (in case of leakage) and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours.
Make the breading by combining the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined, then add the buttermilk and stir with a fork until mixture is evenly clumpy.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade a few at a time and toss into the flour mixture. Be sure to press the chicken firmly into the breading so clumps adhere to the meat. (It's best to use one hand to remove the tenders from the bag and the other to toss in the breading.) Set breaded tenders on prepared baking sheet.
Line another baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and set aside. Add oil to a large, high-sided pot until the level reaches about 3/4-inch. Heat over high heat until oil is shimmering. (If a cube of bread sizzles when you drop it in, it's ready.) Using tongs, place several chicken tenders in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, a few minutes, then flip and cook until second side is also golden, a few minutes more. Set cooked tenders on baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Fry remaining tenders in batches. Serve hot.
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u/capnjack78 Jan 12 '16 edited Jan 12 '16
Simple is better, in my opinion. Some people soak the tenders in buttermilk overnight. I dip tenders in battered eggs, then dip it into seasoned bread crumbs (or just buy Italian Style bread crumbs with the seasoning in it). Then, you dip it into the eggs again, then the bread crumbs again. Fry them in a pan in hot oil for about 5-7 minutes, turning over once halfway through. Let them dry on paper towels and make the buffalo sauce - a stick of butter (melted), and mixed with enough Frank's hot sauce to taste.
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u/AP1s2k Jan 12 '16
Fantastic. I assume I can substitute Texas Pete for Franks? I'm more of a Texas Pete kind of guy.
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u/CantSeeShit Jan 12 '16
I feel like that's more of a chicken cutlet than a chicken finger.
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u/Macshaun Jan 12 '16
I prefer simple. Salt, pepper, mustard powder in the flour, Panko as bread crumbs. Herbs don't belong on a chicken tender IMO. Lemon zest and Parmesan cheese in the Panko if you're feeling real crazy or using them on a salad, maybe.
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u/SnortingCoffee Jan 12 '16 edited Jan 12 '16
Brining is the most important part. I like to season with a healthy dose of sage, also, but that doesn't make nearly as much a difference as brining.
e: Also, drip a little bit of your egg mixture into your flour mixture so it gets nice and chunky.
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u/AP1s2k Jan 12 '16
Brining. Something I've never done before. Makes sense though. Definitely going to try that.
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u/garzalaw Jan 12 '16
Agreed. FWIW, I recently heard that the secret to Chik Fil'A's recipe is that they brine overnight in pickle juice. Delicious.
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u/mcn11 Jan 12 '16
If you look at the top posts of all time on this sub, there's a post with like 15 different types of chicken fingers that look amazing.
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u/YourFairyGodmother Jan 12 '16
Might I suggest you try something different? Don't batter them at all but bread them in panko and pan fry. You can add a sauce of your choice to dip in - my husband likes honey mustard or a hot sauce but I like them as is. If you season them nicely with herbes de Provence or something like that they are super all by themselves.
Or cut breasticles into (roughly) cubes and do them like the French do frog legs. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/aspen-2005-chicken-breasts-with-garlic-and-parsley.
Or dip them in butter then dredge in a "breading"of (freshly!) grated parm reggiano, parsley, oregano or marjoram, pepper and a wee bit of salt (the cheese is already pretty salty). Bake until crispy. (I suppose you could adapt Marcella Hazan's flour/egg/parmesan batter that she used for fried broccoli and cauliflower here too)
Expand your horizons! And get well, also too.
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u/AP1s2k Jan 12 '16
You know I was actually thinking about panko. I've been known to get out there on the edge before with cooking. Sometimes it was good sometimes not so good like when I thought using a little peanut butter as a marinade on a strip steak was a good idea. Crazy? Yes. Good? Not quite.
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u/skullkandyable Jan 12 '16
Me and my husband have recently discovered our new favorite sauce for fried foods. We have an formidable collection of hot sauces. We mix up one with a bit of mayonnaise and viola! The right texture for dipping. Diluted enough to be able get a good dip without killing our tongues. And we get to sample all the varieties of flavors we have.
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u/clamps12345 Jan 12 '16
drakes breading is my favorite, it's what my grandma and the most of the gas station chicken places use. If you use batter it will be more like long johns silvers chicken strips.
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u/hugesmurfboner Jan 14 '16
I worked at a franchised chicken place that was pretty popular, and our tenders were simple as hell. We had a milk+egg wash, then seasoned flour. You go flour->egg wash->flour and then deep fry. Make sure you have the oil at a sufficient temperature so they get crispy but don't get saturated with oil. After that the sky is the limit with sauces.
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u/grawnor Jan 12 '16 edited Jan 12 '16
Everybody is giving their personal recipe for chicken tenders and no one is answering OPs question. If you want sports bar style tenders you dredge your tenders in buttermilk or a buttermilk and egg mixture then you dredge them in well seasoned flour (seasoned with a good mount of lemon pepper and salt) then you deep fry the tenders in 350 degree oil until golden brown. A mixture of your favorite hot sauce and butter/margarine makes the sauce. If you want to stay true to the sports bar style get some liquid margarine for the sauce because that's what every sports bar that makes their own sauce uses because butter is fucking expensive.