The Perfect Chicken Strip

Don't believe the "I'm a chef" gag, I eat chicken tenders once a week LOL. So it's only right that I share my favorite recipe for perfectly crispy tenders.

Chicken tenders are one of my favorites but it’s so hard to find quality ones so I love making my own at home. I like to use the tenderloin cuts typically found in my Kroger poultry section or I’ll take some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and make my own strips.

I like to start by creating a buttermilk bath for the tendies. The acidity of the buttermilk tenderizes the chicken, keeps it nice and juicy, and also creates the crispy breading we love. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make some using 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Pro tip: You should always keep white vinegar in your pantry- there are a million uses!

What you Need:

wet mix:

• 2 pounds of chicken breasts, cut into tenderloins.

• 1 cup of buttermilk

• 1¾ tsp of kosher salt

• ⅓ tsp of cayenne pepper

• ½ tsp of granulated garlic

• ¼ tsp of ground paprika

dry mix:

• 1½ cups of all-purpose flour

• 1½ tsp of cornstarch

• 1⅓ tsp of kosher salt

• ¾ tsp of black pepper

• ¾ tsp of granulated garlic

• ¾ tsp of ground mustard seed

• ¾ tsp of ground smoked paprika

• 4 cups of vegetable oil, for frying

What to Do:

1. Start by marinating the chicken in the wet mixture (buttermilk and spices) in a large bowl. I like to allow the marinade to chill in the fridge covered for about 2 to 4 hours. You can also make this ahead and chill overnight.

2. In another bowl, add the dry mix ingredients and whisk until fully combined.

3. Add vegetable oil to a large pot used for frying (I like to use my cast iron Dutch oven or electric deep fryer)

4. Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade and dredge them in the dry flour mix. Be sure to pat the mixture into the chicken to create the little crunchies that are my favorite part.

5. Once the oil is shimmering and has reached 350F, slowly add your chicken fingers a few at a time and fry on both sides until golden and crispy. If you notice that the chicken is browning too fast, turn the oil down a bit so that you won’t get salmonella from raw chicken :)

6. Sprinkle freshly fried chicken tenders with flaky or coarse kosher salt and enjoy hot! Don’t forget to tag @elle.thefoodie!