Crispy Chicken Tenders with just the right amount of spice and a lot of serving options.
Adults and children alike love chicken tenders. Little strips of deep fried crunchy breading with juicy chicken inside. The trick to making extra crispy chicken tenders that won’t be dry inside is to marinate the chicken in buttermilk for an hour or two before coating in flour. The buttermilk helps to tenderize the chicken so it won’t dry out during the frying process. I like to use chicken tenders for this recipe. Typically you can find packages of chicken tenders in the supermarket. Chicken tenders are a cut of chicken that is located near the breast bone. You can also buy chicken breast and cut it into strips but if chicken tenders are available you should use them. Th extra crispy comes from dredging the marinated chicken in flour, then egg, then flour again. This two step coating process creates a thick crust on the strips that crisps up beautifully.
The seasoning is also very important in this recipe. We want a little kick to our crispy chicken tenders so I add some hot sauce to the buttermilk before marinating the chicken. The flour also needs to be seasoned which will result in a flavorful chicken tender. Bland is boring. There are many ways to serve these crispy chicken tenders. You can serve with a tangy green salad or with mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. They also make a great chicken sandwich, since they are strips try serving them in a hot dog bun topped with hot honey or chopped tomatoes, avocado and shredded lettuce with a special sauce of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, paprika, hot sauce and garlic powder. I like a potato roll because it is squishy and holds up well with the fried chicken strips. You can also just serve them plain with some honey mustard on the side. Whatever you choose I am sure you will love them.
Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1½-2 lb chicken tenders
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 1¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp kosher salt to sprinkle on chicken after frying
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Blend buttermilk and hot sauce together in a bowl
- Add chicken tenders, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours
- beat eggs and put in a shallow bowl
- Mix flour with paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, baking powder in a seperate bowl
- Preheat oven to 300
- Heat 3 or 4 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pan or dutch oven until it is 165 degrees
- Test the heat by dropping a little flour mixture in and see if it sizzles
- Dredge the chicken in flour then egg then back into flour
- Fry chicken in batches until golden. Do not overcrowd the pan
- Drain chicken on paper towels, place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt
- Warm chicken in oven before serving
Extra Crispy Chicken Tender Sandwich
Ingredients
Extra Crispy Chicken Tender Recipe
Special Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- ¼ tsp paprika
- â…› tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp sweet relish or 4 slices kosher dill pickles chopped
- â…› tsp hot sauce
To Assemble Sandwich
- 6 Martin Potato long rolls
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 avocado chopped
- 1 cup shredded boston or romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Prepare Jenn's View Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders
For the Sauce
- Blend together all the ingredients.
- Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes
Assemble Sandwich
- Place warm chicken tender on roll
- Top with lettuce, tomato, avocado and sauce
- Serve and enjoy