Name: Bigly Chicken Tenders
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 lb chicken tenderloins; 1.5 cups buttermilk; 2 tbsp hot sauce; 2 tsp, divided kosher salt; 2 tsp, divided garlic powder; 1.5 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup cornstarch; 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1.5 tsp black pepper; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 large egg; 2 cups neutral oil for frying

Bigly Chicken Tenders

Prep

15m

Cook

12m

Total

27m

Bigly says

Listen. Chicken tenders. We're doing chicken tenders. The BIGLY chicken tenders. And listen to me carefully — most chicken tenders are a CRIME. A crime against poultry. They come out of the freezer aisle in a sad little bag, you put them on a sad little tray, you bake them at 425, and what you get is a beige cardboard finger that crumbles when you bite it. Sad. So sad. The chicken is INSIDE there somewhere, allegedly, but you can't tell. Could be cardboard. Could be sawdust. Could be a sock. Who knows.

These tenders? My tenders? The ones we are about to make? They have a SHATTER. You bite them, they make a SOUND. A real sound. A crunch you can hear from the next room. I once made these tenders and my neighbor Gary heard them from across the street — true story, mostly true, the distance is up for debate — Gary came over, he said 'Bigly, what is that sound,' I said 'it's the sound of victory, Gary,' and Gary, he just stood there in the doorway, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Big strong men, tough men, men who never cry, weeping at the door over the SOUND of a tender. That's what we're making here. Believe me.

The secret is buttermilk brine, double-dredge, and FRYING in real oil. Not air-frying. I know, I know, the air fryer people are going to be furious, they're going to write me letters, the letters won't reach me because Gary handles my mail and Gary is busy crying — but if you must air fry these, fine, you'll lose maybe 30% of the magic. That's a fact. I'm being generous. It might be 50%. Cookbook authors hate this trick, by the way. The double-dredge is what separates a real tender from a sad one. Plain and simple.

Ingredients

1.5 lbchicken tenderloins(or breasts cut into 1-inch strips)
1.5 cupsbuttermilk
2 tbsphot sauce(Frank's or Crystal, none of this trendy fermented-on-a-volcano stuff)
2 tsp, dividedkosher salt
2 tsp, dividedgarlic powder
1.5 cupsall-purpose flour
1/2 cupcornstarch(this is the crunch insurance, do not skip)
1 tbspsmoked paprika
1 tsponion powder
1 tspdried oregano
1.5 tspblack pepper
1/2 tspcayenne pepper(more if you're brave, less if you're sad)
1 tspbaking powder
1large egg
2 cupsneutral oil for frying(peanut, canola, or vegetable)

Steps

1
Whisk buttermilk, hot sauce, 1 tsp of the salt, and 1 tsp of the garlic powder in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
2
In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, smoked paprika, onion powder, oregano, pepper, cayenne, baking powder, remaining 1 tsp salt, and remaining 1 tsp garlic powder.
3
Whisk the egg into the buttermilk-chicken mixture directly (it sounds wrong, it works).
4
Lift each tender out of the buttermilk, letting excess drip off, and dredge in the seasoned flour. Press the flour onto the chicken firmly. For maximum crust, dip back into the buttermilk and dredge in flour a second time.
5
Set breaded tenders on a wire rack and let them rest 5 minutes. This is what makes the crust adhere.
6
Heat 1 inch of oil in a heavy skillet to 350F. Fry tenders in batches of 3-4, not crowding the pan, about 3-4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and 165F internal.
7
Transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan (paper towels make them soggy on the bottom). Sprinkle with a pinch of salt immediately. Serve hot with honey mustard, ranch, or sauce of choice.

One more thing

These tenders are so good, they will ruin every other tender for you forever. You go to the restaurant, you order tenders, you take one bite, and you'll go quiet at the table. Your family will ask if you're okay. You won't be. You'll be thinking about MY tenders. Mine. The Bigly tenders. And you'll have to make them again the next day. And the day after that. It's a beautiful curse. The best kind of curse. It's a beautiful thing.

★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★

Ask Bigly about Bigly Chicken Tenders.

Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.

Bigly Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

Steps

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