Southern comfort food at it’s finest – Classic Fried Chicken. This is my son Noah’s favorite main dish and a quick weeknight favorite in our home.
If you are from the South then you will understand the importance of knowing how to make tasty fried chicken. If you are not, then you should definitely be introduced to this comforting delicacy that does not have to be greasy or heavy! Fried chicken has gotten a bad rep over the years, but when prepared properly, it should be light and crunchy.
When my kids were little I got so tired of going to the local fast food restaurants for them to only order processed chicken nuggets. So, I decided that they should have the experience of “real” chicken nuggets at home. This is where the experiment in our home began.
Over the years, the nuggets turned into tenders and the sauces began to play a larger role in the quality of that experience. My son Noah really latched on to this recipe and it is one of his favorite meals to this day. He enjoys the tenders with a side of homemade honey mustard, but had forbidden me to share that “top secret” recipe as of yet! Hope you and your family enjoys this long time family favorite of ours!
Noah’s Southern Fried Chicken Tenders
Equipment
- Fryer
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken breasts I prefer organic
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2/3 gal Vegetable oil
Breading Mixture
- 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
- 2/3 cup Seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup White corn meal
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Onion powder
- 1 tbsp Ground black pepper
Batter Mixture
- 5 Large eggs
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 1 tbsp Hot sauce I prefer Louisiana
Instructions
- Preheat fryer to 350 degrees and add 2/3 gallon of vegetable oil into the fryer. Make sure your fryer is at least 1/2 filled with oil.
- Slice chicken breasts in half and then cut each half into thinly sliced thirds. Each breast should make 5-6 chicken tender strips.
- Pat chicken down with a dry paper towel and sprinkle salt over the chicken. Set aside.
- On a large plate, combine flour, bread crumbs, corn meal, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper to create the breading mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and hot sauce together.
- Take a chicken tender and dip into the egg mixture. Remove from the egg dip and place into the breading mixture. Coat on both sides and re-dip into the egg mixture. Re-coat in the breading mixture and set aside to fry. Repeat for each chicken tender.
- Place 5-6 chicken tenders into the fryer and cook for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove from fryer and place cooked tenders on a paper towel lined plate to cool. Enjoy!
