Honey Buffalo Chicken Tenders
There’s nothing ever assuming about a chicken tender. They’re a creature comfort on a long drive, golden catharsis when done correctly, and relatively accepted by most people. However, I kept stumbling over this video as more people were cross-posting it from Tiktok. I know some ambitious person ate those KFC hot honey tenders and were like “YEAH I CAN DO THIS”. And they did. The problem is the narrator speaks so quickly that it’s hard to follow along. There are no captions or alt text ( there might be by now, I don’t know I don’t use TikTok), and if you’re like me and need someone to speak up and give concise instructions, you’re left to your own devices and fake it. I dreamt of eating them with a bucket of Diet Coke. We don’t have many accessible chicken places in my part of Portland.
Recently I made them on a whim, slowly dredging and accidentally letting them cook too long in olive oil because it’s all I have, thus making my breading slightly burnt and saturated with oil. 4/10. I knew I could do better.
Honestly, this is a lesson of knowing how to properly dredge and fry. Let’s go…
Honey Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- Depending on how big your chicken breasts are and how many people you are feeding, you can purchase the pre-cut tenders or frozen ones and thaw. Generally 3-4 pieces per person. This recipe serves two people with some leftovers.
- 2 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
- 1 cup Buffalo sauce (Or whatever choice hot sauce you prefer, I personally like the vinegar bite of Franks Original)
- Creole seasoning (You can combine onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, thyme, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt in a small dish to DIY this spice)
- Nashville Hot Spice (mix of mild and hot peppers – red pepper, paprika, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, garlic and onion powders.)
- 4 cups of flour with 1/4 cup creole seasoning and 1tbs baking powder for dredging.
Instructions
- Start with your chicken pieces, this recipe covers about 8-12 pieces of chicken. Start by generously seasoning with the creole and Nashville hot season, I don't use salt and pepper on this because the creole season has salt in it already. Use your hands to make sure every piece is liberally covered. Cover with the buttermilk and your hot sauce.
- If you make this recipe without marinating first you're going to have dry, flavorless, albeit spicy chicken. You need to brine that bird and let the buttermilk do its thing. Don't say I didn't warn you. I mean you can absolutely use pre-fried tenders for this too. But why? Let that bird bathe for a few hours, no less than 30 minutes.
- The secret to really good fried chicken in any form is understanding dredging. Specifically in shaggy flour. This isn't hard, just dribble some of the brine to the top of your flour to make it a little chunky... It's science. I had to learn in many trial and error failures of broken crust, that you pull from the marinade, and, "flour dredge, dip, flour dredge, rest" the "shag" that sticks is what really gives your chicken the literal edge it needs. Resting your pieces gives the flour time to meld with your brine and stick to the chicken. If there are some moist spots just lightly dredge again.
- To fry the chicken: Line another baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and set next to the stove. Add oil to a large, high-sided pot until the level reaches about 3/4-inch. Heat over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering (about 350°). (If a cube of bread sizzles when you drop it in, it's ready.) Using tongs, place several chicken tenders in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, a few minutes, then flip and cook until the second side is also golden, a few minutes more. Cooked tenders should register about 170 degrees. Rest on the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Fry remaining tenders in batches adjusting the heat as necessary (if the tenders are browning too fast, lower the heat). Serve hot.
- Listen, I am a Buffalo chicken fiend. But this sauce can be made with any of your favorite hot sauces, I just prefer a buffalo flavor because it has a heavy vinegar bite which I love, and usually comes in a value size. I have made them with Fire on the Mountain's Cilantro Lime sauce and they were really good. Just treat them like wings when saucing!
- In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, mix a few pats of butter with your sauce of choice and a few squirts of honey. It's going to be a thin sauce, which is what you want. You don't want to completely saturate your chicken, just coat it in the sauce in another bowl.
- I don't use ranch or blue cheese for these but you absolutely can!
