Fried Chicken Tenders Recipe

Move over Raising Cane’s chicken fingers. These crispy fried chicken tenders are marinated in buttermilk and dredged in a seasoned flour mixture before they are fried golden brown. Serve with a homemade dipping sauce for a truly Southern taste experience that’s made from scratch.

The buttermilk marinade gives them a unique flavor, while the seasoned flour mixture creates an equally irresistible crunchiness that will keep your taste buds coming back for more! If this isn’t enough then don’t worry because these bad boys come with homemade dipping sauce, too.

Making homemade crispy chicken strips takes a little work, but don’t let that scare you. A little bit of work never hurt anyone, right?

To make these buttermilk fried chicken tenders, make sure that you have all of the ingredients before you start.

Ingredient List for Fried Chicken Tenders

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Vegetable Oil
• Buttermilk
• Egg
• Flour
• Cornstarch
• Baking soda
• Bread crumbs
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Smoked paprika
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder

Instructions

1. The best way to start this recipe is to mix the marinade. You can place buttermilk, an egg, and garlic powder in a large zip-top bag, seal the bag, and shake it all together (this makes for easy clean-up) or you can mix the ingredients together in a large shallow container.
2. Next, cut 3 large chicken breasts into long strips – you should be able to get 3-4 strips from each breast. Place the chicken strips into the marinade and let them marinate for at least 2 hours. You can even let them soak in the tangy goodness for up to 24 hours.
3. When you get ready to prepare the chicken, begin by making a seasoning blend. Mix black pepper, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a small bowl. One tablespoon of this seasoning mix will be used in the buttermilk mixture and the rest will be used in the flour mixture.
4. In a large glass bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, Italian bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup of the seasoning mix. (This will be referred to as the flour mixture.)

4. Combine buttermilk and the remaining tablespoon of the seasoning mix in a shallow dish. (This will be referred to as the buttermilk mixture.)

5. Pour oil into a large stockpot or Dutch oven to a depth of 2 to 2 ½ inches. Turn the heat on medium and heat until the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you have never fried anything before, check out this post on Deep Frying on the Stovetop Without Fear at Good Food Stories.)

6. Meanwhile, drain the chicken and discard the marinade.

7. Dip a chicken tender into the flour mixture and shake off any excess coating. Next, dip it in the buttermilk mixture and let the excess drip off. Dip the chicken back into the flour mixture and coat well. (It’s okay to use your fingers and press the flour onto the chicken tender to help the flour adhere to the chicken.) Place the coated chicken tenders onto a wire rack and let them rest while the oil heats.

Once the oil has reached 350 degrees Fahrenheit, carefully place 3-4 chicken tenders in the hot oil to cook. Cook tenders for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are fully cooked. Chicken should NOT have any pink inside.

Place the cooked chicken tenders on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

Special Sauce Ingredients and Instructions

If you are going to serve a Raising Cane’s chicken tenders clone, you gotta have a sauce to go with them, am I right? This sauce recipe comes together in a jiffy. The combination of flavors lends to the name Comeback Sauce. (It’s so delicious you’ll come back for more, you know?!) To make it, you need the following ingredients:

• Mayonnaise
• Ketchup
• Vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper

Place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix until blended.

For more flavor, prepare the sauce around the time that you marinate the chicken. This gives the flavors of the sauce more time to meld and marry.

In the mood to try something new? Check out the chicken dipping sauce at Southern Home Express. It’s made using orange marmalade and a few other basic staples and sounds pretty awesome.

Hungry for more? Don’t miss out on these chicken recipes:

• Quick and Easy Chicken and Dumplings
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Oven-Baked Chicken Taquitos
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken and Potatoes Casserole

These chicken tenders are great as a main meal or serve them as appetizers at your next get-together with friends and family. They taste great on salads, too!

Chicken tenders can be found at almost any restaurant around the South where fried chicken is king, but why not make your own? The recipe for these tenders is inspired by both Zaxby’s and Raising Cane’s where chicken is the star.

People will be smacking their lips after tasting these crispy, crunchy fried chicken tenders – they’re so tender and juicy. Serve with crinkle-cut fries, cole slaw, and Texas toast to complete the dining experience.

Top Southern Food Blog

I want to post a “shout out” here to Feedspot for recognizing Southern Kissed on the Top 30 Southern Food Blogs You Must follow in 2021. Southern Kissed is listed at #26 and we are grateful for the recognition.

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