This easy homemade chicken tender recipe bakes up crispy and delights the entire family will love it. You can serve them with fries or with a hot saice and enjoy it. Marinating then chicken in buttermilk will really make a difference in the texture of the meat. Into a large bowl add buttermilk and t=you can substitute that with the whole milk then add vinegar. Leave that to set for 15 minutes. You can buy your chicken tenderloins or cut chicken breasts into strips and after 15 minutes, your milk will have cuddles then add hot sauce and mix.

Place in the chicken and mix wee into the buttermilk and leave it aside for up to two hours. For the crust, add all-purpose flour into a bowl, the other bowl you will break in large eggs and place panko breadcrumbs in a large dish. The panko crumbs are larger than the normal breadcrumbs and will make a crispier crust.

To the flour add salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika and cayenne powder them mix really well. To the eggs, add salt and beat it in until the eggs are well mixed then add salt to the bread crumbs and mix it also. Once the chicken is set, take each strip and let the excess buttermilk drip off then put it in the flour and coat well.

Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off then put the chicken in the breadcrumbs and press the breadcrumbs on the chicken really well. Set the coated chicken on a plate then heat enough oil to deep fry the chicken, your oil should be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celcius.

Gently drop the chicken in the oil and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Chicken tenders are always not thick and they will cook really quickly. Drain then chicken tenders once out of the oil and serve hot. You can serve them with ketchup, honey mustard or sriracha mayo. Give these tenders a try and enjoy.

Ingredients;

  • 2lbs/900g chicken tenderloins
  • 1 cup/250ml buttermilk substitute below
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 cup/140g All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 2 to 3 cups/ 100-150 grams panko breadcrumbs
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions;

  1. To a bowl, add buttermilk or if you don’t have buttermilk, substitute – Mix 1 cup Whole milk and 2 tbsp vinegar. Leave this alone for 15 minutes.
  2. Add hot sauce to buttermilk. Add chicken tenders to buttermilk, mix well and set aside for 2 hours.
  3. Heat up a pan with enough vegetable oil to deep fry tenders.
  4. For the crust, to a bowl, add all-purpose flour. Crack large eggs in another bowl and put Panko bread crumbs in another dish.
  5. To the flour, add salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne powder, mix well. Add 1/2 tsp salt to the eggs and whisk well. Add 1/2 tsp salt to the bread crumbs and mix well.
  6. First, we dip the chicken in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs. Have a plate to put the coated chicken on and a plate or pan lined with paper towels for the fried chicken. You can also drain the chicken on a rack over a sheet tray.
  7. Let the excess buttermilk drip off each piece of chicken. Put each piece in the flour and coat well. Dip in the eggs next, let the excess drip off and put the chicken in the bread crumbs.
  8. Test your oil temperature with a ball of the mixture stuck to your hands or a thermometer, it should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees celsius.
  9. Gently drop the chicken in the oil and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. The pieces of chicken are not thick and cook very quickly.
  10. Drain and serve hot. If you like things a bit on the saltier side, sprinkle a little coarse salt on the tenders right after you take them out of the oil.
  11. These tenders are great served with ketchup, honey mustard or sriracha mayo. The outside is crunchy and the inside is soft and juicy.
  12. Marinating the chicken in buttermilk really makes a difference in the texture of the meat. Give these tenders a try and let me know how you like them.