Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

• 2 lb chicken tenders (About 14–16 tenders)
• 4 cup buttermilk (For the marinade)
• 0.25 cup hot sauce (For the marinade)
• 2 tbsp mustard (For the marinade)
• 1 egg (For the marinade)
• 1 tbsp paprika, chili, and garlic seasoning (For the marinade; the source does not specify the proportions of the three seasonings)
• salt and pepper (To taste; for the marinade)
• 6 cup flour (For the dry batter)
• 2 cup cornstarch (For the dry batter)
• 1 tsp baking powder (For the dry batter)
• 1 tbsp paprika, chili, and garlic seasoning (For the dry batter; use the same seasonings as in the marinade. The source does not specify the proportions of the three seasonings)
• salt and pepper (To taste; for the dry batter)
• 20 oz sparkling water (About 20 oz; use cold sparkling water for the wet batter)
• 2 eggs (For the wet batter)
• frying oil (For frying; amount not specified)
• 1 stick butter (For the sauce; approximately ½ cup)
• 10 cloves garlic (Minced; cook until the raw garlic flavor is gone)
• 1 tbsp jalapeño dust (For the sauce)
• 1 cup hot sauce (For the sauce)
• 0.25 cup honey (For the sauce)

Steps

1. 1

   In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, hot sauce, mustard, egg, paprika/chili/garlic seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. 2

   Add the chicken tenders to the marinade and marinate until you lose patience, as the source says. The source does not specify a precise marinating time.

3. 3

   In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, the paprika/chili/garlic seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste to make the dry batter.

4. 4

   Transfer about 2 cups of the dry batter to another bowl.

5. 5

   Add the two eggs to the reserved dry batter, then gently whisk in the cold sparkling water until the mixture has a very loose pancake-batter consistency.

6. 6

   Remove a buttermilk-coated tender from the marinade and place it in the main bowl of dry batter. Press the dry mixture onto the chicken with one hand.

7. 7

   Dip the tender into the sparkling-water wet batter and allow excess batter to drip off.

8. 8

   Return the tender to the dry batter and coat it again. Repeat the wet-dry-wet-dry process with the remaining tenders.

9. 9

   Heat frying oil to 350°F / 175°C.

10. 10

    Fry the coated tenders in the hot oil for about 5–6 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Work in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the oil.

11. 11

    For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan or skillet.

12. 12

    Add the minced garlic and jalapeño dust. Cook until the raw garlic flavor has cooked out, taking care not to burn the garlic.

13. 13

    Turn off the heat, then add the hot sauce and honey and stir to combine.

14. 14

    Add the fried chicken tenders to the sauce and toss or dunk them until they are coated.

15. 15

    Serve the sauced tenders, optionally with spicy ranch as shown or mentioned in the source.

Notes

The source does not specify an exact marinating time or the amount of frying oil. It also does not provide a precise quantity for the combined paprika, chili, and garlic seasoning beyond 1 tablespoon per seasoning group, so the three seasonings are retained as a combined source ingredient. The source mentions serving with spicy ranch but does not provide a ranch recipe.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• chicken
• fried
• crispy
• spicy
• sauced
• American
• high-protein