While shopping for dinner on Friday I was a little shocked at how expensive chicken breasts are. A packet of four breasts was the same price as 2 whole medium chickens (which were 1/3 off). Not only was I getting way more meat but also the breast pieces I carved off were bigger than what I would have bought separately. So next time you want chicken for dinner don’t be afraid to do a little butchery. It will be worth your money.
After using the chicken breasts for Parmesan crumbed cutlets with spaghetti and marinara I had the chicken tenders (or goujons) and legs left. So for a quick dinner I made Spicy Breaded Chicken Tender Melts.
Seeing as I didn’t have any breadcrumbs I improvised. I toasted a slice of plain sandwich bread and blended it until it looked like breadcrumbs. Do let the toast cool a bit or there will be too much moisture when you blend it. I lightly seasoned them with garlic salt and pepper and spread them onto a large plate. On two other plates I put plain flour and hot sauce (buffalo sauce to be exact). Heat up a large frying pan with enough oil to coat the bottom on a medium heat. Also heat up your oven or grill. When the oil is shiny but not smoking (a couple minutes), take your chicken tenders (using one hand) and lightly coat in flour, then hot sauce, then breadcrumbs. Do all of them before putting in the pan. Very gently add them to the oil and clear your counter. Using a spatula check the first piece which should be nicely browning after about 2-3 minutes. (I used heat #4 out of 6) gently turn them over to cook for a further 3-4 minutes. If they’re starting to brown too quickly turn the heat down. Touch with your finger and it should be pretty firm. If you’re not sure cut into a piece.
If you’re having these with bread, lightly toast in the oven. Add a little bit of mayonnaise and top with the chicken pieces. Add slices of a good melting cheese like Swiss, mozzarella or Jarlsberg and melt in the oven. Serve with extra hot sauce on the side if you’d like!
Overall it was a pretty quick meal to make – probably about 15 minutes. I’ve seen this method before in other recipes where you “replace” the egg coating with a different liquid, so I wanted to try it. For the coating it worked perfectly. From a flavor perspective it didn’t ave AS much punch as I would have liked. Next time I might add spices to the flour or maybe double coat in flour, hot sauce, flour and sauce again. Either way though the chicken was very moist and the homemade breadcrumbs were a success. You could easily serve this with a salad or some sweet potato fries. Enjoy!
