Macadamia Crusted Chicken Tenders With Maui Sunset Sauce

Brookelynne26's Note:

Recipe is written to make ahead and bake later. Make sure to read through entire recipe to decide your best plan of action.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 0 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Chicken

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 ½ lbs chicken tenders
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ½ cup butter , melted and cooled
• 1 ½ cups finely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup panko
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Sauce

• ½ cup dried apricot , finely chopped
• ¾ cup water
• 1⁄3; cup brown sugar
• ½ cup rice vinegar
• ½ cup ketchup
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• ½ teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
• ¼ teaspoon chili oil

Directions:

1. To Make the Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to boil. reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Stir occasionally while simmering, until thickened.Let sauce cool to room temperature befor serving. Will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
2. Make the Chicken Tenders: Combine buttermilk, tenders, poultry seasoning, and pepper in a large bag. Seal and turn to coat chicken. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone liner.
4. Drain chicken in a colander. Pour butter into a shallow dish, combine nuts, panko, and paprika. Dip tenders into butter and then nut mixture, pressing nuts into chicken to help them adhere. Lay chicken on baking sheet and pour any remaining butter over top.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours, or may be frozen up to 6 weeks.
6. To bake, defrost chicken if frozen. Preheat oven to 400 F and let tenders come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Bake 10-12 minutes until nuts are golden and chicken is cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Reviews

[Gardeningod]

Sorry, Jusy wasnt a big fan. For all the work, and as well as the cost, to me not worth it, Didnt like the sauce, and frankly you couldn't even taste the costly macadamia nuts.

[alligirl]

This is a really tasty take on chicken tenders. Great twist and flavor with the macadamias. The Maui Sunset sauce was spicy sweet and delightful! I didn't have chili oil, so I used a bit of crushed red pepper. My tenders may have been bigger, as they required 25 minutes to cook. I would like to try these on a salad with mixed greens and fresh pineapple, with the sauce as an exotic dressing! YUM! Thanks for sharing, Brookelynne.