CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS

Are you sitting down? Are you ready for this? I actually fried chicken that was delicious! Being from the south you would think that fried chicken was a specialty for me. It’s not! It’s one of those meals that totally intimidates me. I somehow manage to undercook it or overcook it EVERY time.

I recently joined a food delivery service. You go online, choose the items you want to purchase from your grocer of choice, and they deliver your list to your door in 2-3 hours. What’s not to love about that? No getting dressed, no getting out in the rain or freezing temperatures, no putting grandkids in their car seats and heading to the store….just fill out a form and they do all the hard work. It does have its drawbacks and this week was one of those. I ordered chicken thighs for a recipe that I was salivating over, but they chose chicken tenderloins for me instead. My first reaction was “WHAT?? I don’t fry chicken!” (Is there anything else to do with tenderloins but fry them? If you have suggestions, please let me know.)

After staring at these tenderloins for hours, (okay, that’s not true but it felt like it), I decided to tackle the chicken tenderloin conundrum. I could cut them into cubes and grill them with veggies, but it’s 30 degrees outside! I could add them to a soup but that seemed a waste to me. So….crispy fried chicken tenderloins it was going to be.

INGREDIENTS
2 lb chicken tenderloins
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste (the more the better for me)
2 eggs, beaten well
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika (hot is what I used)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
oil for frying (I used peanut oil but use whatever you choose)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl, add the chicken tenders, buttermilk, and hot sauce. Allow these to marinate for a few hours. The buttermilk acts as a tenderizer for the chicken.

2. When ready to cook, set up your breading station. In one bowl add your beaten eggs.
In a second bowl, add your flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic and mix well.
3. Heat one inch of oil in a deep skillet.

4. Remove chicken tenders from the buttermilk and shake off. Roll in the flour, dip in the egg and roll again in the flour. Shake off any excess.

5. Place 4-5 chicken tenders in the hot oil and brown for 4-5 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. I made a come-back sauce for these and it was fabulous!