Fried Chicken Tenders – Extra Crispy! (VIDEO)

Do you love fried chicken? Me too! My Fried Chicken recipe is one of my most popular on the website – and for good reason! Japanese Fried Chicken Karaage is one of my weaknesses; so is Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken and Mochiko Chicken! But I think Korean Fried Chicken is my favorite – what’s yours? Let me know in the comments!

Chicken

• 1.5 lb chicken tenders – If you can’t find or don’t have Fried Chicken Tenders, you can slice breasts into long strips.
  • Technically, chicken breasts and tenderloins (commonly called Chicken Tenders) are not the same thing. The tenderloin is a muscle underneath the breast – the butcher will usually cut it off and sell it separately.
  • Tenderloins are more tender than breasts (hence the name!)
  • If you use chicken breasts with skin, save the skin and make Chicken Skin Chips!
• Seasoning Mix – one of my key tips when cooking any dish is to build flavor in every step of cooking – so I highly recommend always seasoning your Chicken Tenders, even before dredging!
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder

Seasoning Dredge

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour – Flour is the base of your dredge. I love to fry chicken and I’ve learned over the years that I like to do a mix of flour and starches for the perfect balance of crispy, crunchy, and golden brown. Flour helps especially with the browning.
• ½ cup potato starch – Potato starch has a larger granule size than cornstarch, which makes the batter more rigid and brittle. When fried, the Chicken Tenders are crunchier and more robust, with better structure (versus light and crispy when using cornstarch alone).
• 1 cup cornstarch – Cornstarch, when mixed with flour, helps prevent gluten development – when fried, this makes the Chicken Tenders crispier. The combination of potato starch and cornstarch is how you get Chicken Tenders that are crispy AND crunchy, with nice structure but not too hard.
• Seasoning Mix
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • ½ tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon baking powder. The baking powder reacts with the oil when the Chicken Tenders are fried and creates tiny air bubbles, which also helps form a crispy coating.

Wet Batter

• 1 cup flour all-purpose
• 2 eggs – The egg will help the breading stick to the Chicken Tenders.
• 1 cup cold water – cold water helps the dredge and batter stick to the Chicken Tenders! It’s not proven but I also think cold liquid helps the Chicken Tenders firm up and stay moist.
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Oil

• 2 quarts neutral oil – this is for frying your Chicken Tenders! My go-to neutral oil is avocado oil, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil. Avoid using olive oil, which is not recommended for frying due to a lower smoking point.

Want Chicken Tenders but don’t feel like frying? Try my Air Fryer Chicken Tenders instead! I’ve mastered how to make crispy chicken in the air fryer, like my Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Chicken Katsu, Air Fryer Chicken Karaage, and Air Fryer Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken!

1. Remove Tendon (Optional) and Season the Chicken

In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne pepper.

If desired, remove the tendon from the chicken tenders. I like to do this with a fork and my hand to pull out the tender from the chicken (see photos below or watch the video on how to do this!).

Add the chicken tenders into the bowl and toss to evenly coat each tender.

Set aside to dry brine for 20 minutes while you continue onto step 2.

2. Set up the Dredging Station

Take two medium/large bowls. In bowl #1, mix together the wet batter. In bowl #2, mix together the seasoning dredge. Line a tray or baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Set up a dredging station with the seasoned chicken, wet batter, seasoning dredge, and lined tray or baking sheet.

Take a 2 tablespoons of water and drizzle it into the dry seasoning dredge. Rub the seasoning dredge together with your hands to form craggily bits throughout the mixture. This is super important to create texture within the dry batter which will create a better crust!

3. Dredge the Chicken

Bring the seasoned chicken tenders to the dredging station.

Dredge the seasoned chicken tenders into the first bowl with the wet batter, and let any excess drip off.

Immediately add the chicken tenders into the second bowl with the seasoning flour. Use your hands to pack the dredge into the chicken. See that texture below? That’s because we created those initial craggily bits into the dry mix beforehand! That is the secret to crispy, crunchy fried chicken tenders!

Shake off any excess loose breading and place on the lined baking tray or sheet. Let them rest while you heat up the oil – this will also help the batter stick to the chicken.

4. Fry the Chicken Tenders

In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat neutral oil to 325°F.

Fry the chicken tenders in batches at 325°F for 4 minutes. For 1.5 lbs of chicken, I fried in two batches. Use a thermometer to ensure the oil temperature does not drop below 300°F.

Remove the chicken to a wire rack to drain. They should look lighter in color as shown in the photo below.

If cooking in batches: Wait for the oil to reach 325°F again. Repeat until all the chicken tenders have been fried once.

5. Fry a Second Time

Use a mesh skimmer to remove any loose batter from the oil. (Otherwise these will burn when we heat the oil to higher temperatures for the second fry!)

Heat the oil to 375°F and fry the chicken tenders a second time for 2 minutes. You’ll see that they will become much darker and the breading will be more pronounced and crispier.

Remove to the wire rack and let cool. Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy!

Balance all of the fried deliciousness with easy roasted vegetables, like Honey Roasted Carrots, Roasted Cauliflower, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts)!

Homemade Sauces for Chicken Tenders

I love making as many Sauces and Condiments at home as possible! It allows me to:

• control the quality of my ingredients
• avoid unnecessary additives or preservatives
• I can customize it to my taste (I usually prefer sauces on the less sweet and more spicy side)

Here are some of my favorite sauces you can use with Chicken Tenders:

• Homemade Ranch
• BBQ Sauce
• Raising Cane’s Sauce
• Chick-Fil-A Sauce
• Honey Mustard
• Spicy Mayo
• Thai Sweet Chili Sauce