Fried Chicken Tenders

Submitted by E. Nigma

"Nice and crispy and a tad spicy, the perfect appetizer. The trick to perfect fried chicken is to control the temperature of your oil. Too hot and the food burns before it's fully cooked, too cool and it won't get crispy and it will get very greasy. Use a deep-fry thermometer and a heavy pot so that when you add the food the temperature won't drop too drastically. Brining the chicken is the best way to make it juicy and flavorful, but I wouldn't recommend doing it overnight as that's too long. Two hours should do it."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 10mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs chicken tenders
• 1 quart water
• 1⁄4 cup kosher salt
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons seasoning salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄4 cup milk

directions

1. Combine the water, kosher salt, and sugar in a container to form a brine. Add the chicken tenders and let this marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, seasoned salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a container and mix very well to combine.
3. Mix the eggs and milk in another container.
4. Preheat your oil to 350 degrees.
5. Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour mixture and pat off excess.
6. Dip the tenders in the egg mixture and drain excess.
7. Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour a second time and set them on a plate. Put them in the fridge to dry out for about 20 minutes. This will help the coating stick to the chicken better.
8. Once the oil is hot, fry the tenders in small batches for about 5 minutes and then drain on paper towels.
9. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces!

Reviews

[989727]

Fabulous recipe! Everyone loved it and the tenders were great the second day in the toaster oven. Made some with the cayenne and some without for the kids. Both were a hit. Used rice flour (to make it gluten free) and triple dipped the tenders which gave them a thick, crispy coat. Also, instead of pan frying, I oven fried - heat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/4 inch vegetable oil in a baking sheet and heat in the oven. When hot, place chicken tenders on the baking sheet - bake for 7-10 min, rotate tenders and bake for additional 7-10 min. Absolutely fabulous!

 

[elazaverd]

Made these exactly following recipe and they were fantastic. Tender, moist on the inside and crisp on the outside with a slight kick. Everyone loved them. I've made them several times now. Can't even order chicken strips in a restaurant again after making these.

 

[Sc4r1ett]

Delish! watching 2 x 8 year olds demolish them as I type...However, I don't measure things, I use my eye and tastebuds. I used 2 chicken breast for this snipped with scissor. Never done the 'brining thing' before - not sure if its a USA thing but gave it a try and soaked the chicken in 'some' water and 'some' sugar and 'some salt' then I drained them and placed 'some' flour and seasonings in a big plastic bag - shook 'em up. Dredged in egg/milk mix and added to another bag with more flour seasoning mix. Laid 'em on a plate in the fridge for about an hour. The I heated about an inch of oil in a Wok and fried 'em in batches (tip pan to one side for a deep fry) - Anyway yummy! Will use the method again - thanks!

 

[Dalphon H.]

I found this recipe to be excellent. I had to add 1 step that wasn't in the instructions. I think the reason for the "too much salt" comments is that the instructions do not tell us to rinse off the chicken with clear (tap) water and pat it dry before we dredge it in the flour mixture. That is an important step that ensures the chicken is not overly salty. Also, since my tongue is overly sensitive to salt, I cut the amount of salt i added to the breading mixture in half.

 

[Jeff R.]

Reviewers please do not leave 5 star reviews and then proceed to state that the flavor was off or it was too salty. I made this recipe without looking at review details because it had 5 stars. This recipe is nasty and disgusting. It is too salty, the over the top use of pepper spices makes the taste nasty, and the brine made the chicken rubbery and unpleasant. Hopefully my one star will bring the rating down so no one else makes the same mistake. Total waste of a lot of time and money