Crispy Chicken Stix are callin’
They’re finger lickin’ good
Crispy Chicken Stix are callin’
They’re the cutest, tastiest food
Crispy Chicken Stix are callin’
For me to take a bite
With three delicious dipping sauces
I won’t wait for an invite
Taste what’s good and pass it on.
Ingrid
Crispy Chicken Stix With 3 Dipping Sauces
(Serves about 4)
Crispy Chicken Stix ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
3 teaspoons salt, divided use
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Peanut oil for frying
• Sweet Honey Mustard dipping sauce (recipe below)
• Smoky BBQ dipping sauce (recipe below)
• Buttermilk Ranch dipping sauce (recipe below)
Preparation:
-Preheat your oven to the “Keep Warm” setting, or 200 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
-To prepare the chicken, first remove the tenderloin from each breast, and reserve for another use; next, fillet each breast to make 8 thinner breast fillets, and then slice very thin strips, about the thickness of a pencil, slicing the long way for long, pencil-like strips; when all the breasts are sliced, add the strips to a medium sized bowl and cover with the buttermilk and ½ teaspoon of the salt; mix with hands to combine and marinate for a few minutes while flour coating is prepared.
-To a large Zip lock bag (jumbo size), add the flour, the remaining 2 ½ teaspoons salt and all other ingredients through the cayenne pepper, and toss with fingers to combine the spices; next, take about a third of the chicken strips that are in the buttermilk, give them a gentle shake to drip off the excess buttermilk, and add them to the flour in the bag and toss well to coat the strips; remove the strips from the flour, shake gently to remove excess flour, and place them onto a large platter or plate, keeping them as straight as possible; prepare the frying oil.
-In a large non-stick skillet or pan, add enough of the peanut oil to come about a third of the way up the pan, or to “shallow fry” the strips (they won’t be completely submerged, only about half way); once the oil temperature reaches between 350-360 degrees, begin laying the strips into the hot oil, keeping them as straight as possible to prevent them from curling too much; be careful not to overcrowd the pan, and fry the strips for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown; remove the strips from the oil and place them onto a paper towel for a moment to drain; give a little sprinkle of salt while the strips are still hot, then place those finished strips onto the baking sheet in the “warm” oven to keep them warm; repeat the process frying more strips; then, repeat the process of dredging the next batch of the strips in the flour and frying them, then placing them in the oven to keep warm; repeat this until all strips are fried.
To Serve:
-Place the Crispy Chicken Stix onto a large serving platter, and serve the 3 dipping sauces in small bowls next to the platter allowing for people to help themselves to their choice of sauce on the side.
Sweet Honey Mustard Sauce ingredients:
½ cup real mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
Pinch salt
Pinch black pepper
Preparation:
-In a small bowl, add all ingredients and whisk well to combine, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Smoky BBQ Sauce ingredients:
½ cup organic ketchup
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon plus a pinch black pepper
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke (usually available in the condiment section)
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
Preparation:
-In a small bowl, add all ingredients and whisk well to combine, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Buttermilk Ranch ingredients:
½ cup sour cream
1 medium garlic clove, pressed through garlic press
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon real mayonnaise
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon plus a pinch salt
¼ teaspoon plus a pinch coarsely cracked black pepper
¼ teaspoon sugar
• Pinch Italian seasoning
Preparation:
-In a small bowl, add all ingredients and whisk well to combine, cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Bjork
These look INCREDIBLE! Is it possible to express mail a bag of these to the Philippines? 🙂
Debs @ The Spanish Wok
Fab for snacking and enjoying having a drink with friends. Love the dips too, have pinned for another day.
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Angie@Angie's Recipes
They are fingerlicking! The mustard dressing is my favourite.
Quick Asian Recipes - Ashish Negi
You are right, no waiting for any invite for this one 😉
The Culinistas
I bet these would be a hit for a kids party!
Dawn R
I am drooling and want one now!
Courtney @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
I can't eat chicken fingers without multiple dipping sauces. I just love the variety--every bite a little different than the last. I always love stopping by your blog. Both the pictures and the writing are so beautiful and feel very genuine. You've carved out a wonderful corner here!
thecozyapron
I appreciate your comments Courtney, thank you.
Jenna
These look absolutely yummy! Once the kitchen is worth heading into again (at nearly 1 in the morning, my first floor - where the kitchen is - has finally 'cooled' down to about 84. Cooking will resume... in a couple days.) I think I'm going to see if I can't rework these to be gluten free. (Dratted celiac) Thanks for such a great looking goal to aim for!
Jillian in Italy
Great recipe! My family would love these so much. Me too. Great for a snack when we have friends over for drinks. Thanks!
The ROXX Box
I can't wait to make this. This looks so delicious!!
creativemom
Could I use a different oil? Which part is the tenderloin ?? 🙂
The Cozy Apron
Hi creativemom! 🙂 You can use any oil that you prefer—just make sure it is one that can withstand higher temps and won't burn easily. And as far as the tenderloins, you can actually purchase chicken breast tenderloins (or "tenders"), in a package—they are the tender part of the chicken breast, that part that seems like an extra "flap" piece attached to a skinless, boneless breast. Or, you can just use skinless, boneless breasts if that's what you have, and slice them thin. Hope that helps!
Paul
I've fixed these for my grandchildren five times and each time I had to double the amount, because their parents also went crazy for them. These are the tastiest chicken pieces I have ever had. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. This made Grandpa a hero.
The Cozy Apron
Hi "hero"! Paul, your comments really put a smile on my face, and such warmth and joy in my heart; I'm so happy you are enjoying preparing this recipe for your precious grand kids! So honored to have a recipe of mine be a little part of your time with them, one they (and even their parents!) enjoy, and I'm sure, cherish. Grateful you shared this with me...thank you.
Melissa
Ingrid, I had some leftover grilled chicken and decided to make some BBQ sandwiches...and then realized I had no sauce AND didn't have time to run to the grocery. Came here (of course) and found this lovely, quick, no-cook BBQ sauce that is just perfect. I find that a lot of bottled BBQ sauces are overly sweet, so this hit the spot, satisfied my craving for a sandwich, AND helped me use up some leftovers. The Honey Mustard sauce is also great--love the addition of tarragon in it. And BTW, I make your Pulled Chicken Sandwich regularly during the summer, and it's phenomenal--just didn't have the time to pull that one together for this particular night. Thanks as always for giving us great food! Love, Melissa
The Cozy Apron
Oh, terrific, Melissa! So glad you can even find some of these "odds and ends" type recipes to go with your already made dishes...that's perfect! Glad you enjoyed. 🙂