Hooray it’s Friday. More hooray, it’s the Super Bowl. Well, actually I take that back. I’m cancelling the Super Bowl this year. You know what, 2018 is just cancelled. Okay I will stop being dramatic. BUT—as a Giants fan this is the worst Super Bowl that could have possibly happened. I detest both teams with a burning passion. I hate the Eagles as an NFC rival and I hate the Patriots…just because. I guess I’m just tired of seeing them in the Super Bowl.
Regardless of who is playing (even though I would much rather see my Giants) I’m obviously going to throw a party for the Super Bowl. I love having my friends join me in eating, drinking, and just having a grand ole time being together. Even if only two or three of my friends have a stake in this weekend’s game, we can all bond together over the commercials and the halftime show. It’ll be a great time.
Super Bowl parties are a blast and full of topnotch tailgate foods like guacamole, potato skins, and most importantly, buffalo wings. Buffalo wings are crucial for the entirety of football season to be honest. Whenever I see articles that there might be a wing shortage at the start of the season, I panic. You can’t have football without wings, especially wings slathered in sauce. Personally, I prefer extra spicy wings, but everyone has different tolerance to spice.
Even though buffalo wings are a staple of Super Bowl parties, every now and then we should shake things up and try something new, which is exactly why I have this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Tenders for you to try this Super Bowl weekend.
This marriage of buffalo wings and chicken fingers is perfect for a large crowd. These are much easier and neater to eat. While it’s more fun to eat with your hands (and you most certainly can with these too), trying to maneuver around the bones of chicken wings can be a bit tedious. Another wonderful tidbit about these chicken fingers is that they’re much healthier than standard chicken fingers. The reason for that is that these lovelies are baked! None of that messy fried nonsense; although I do love fried chicken tenders from the snack bars at stadiums. Sometimes a little grease isn’t the end of the world. But these are much healthier for you since all you need to do is throw them in the oven. Less mess; same great flavor.
I adapted this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I love the idea of using cornflakes as a crust instead of breadcrumbs. It adds a light sweetness that complements the spicy buffalo sauce really well. When I made these, I do wish they were a bit crispier, but I loved this recipe, especially with homemade bleu cheese and celery sticks. That’s truly the classic way to enjoy buffalo anything—with bleu cheese and some crunchy bland tasting vegetables to douse in bleu cheese and alleviate the numbing spice. I guess you can use ranch dressing if you don’t like bleu cheese—to each their own.
Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Servings: 4
Instructions
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken tenderloins
5 cups corn flakes cereal, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup buffalo hot sauce (Frank's RedHot sauce is my choice)
Bleu cheese dressing (homemade or store bought)
Celery and carrot sticks
Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the corn flakes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika and pulse until the cereal is broken down into coarse crumbs, with some large pieces intact. Pour the cereal mixture in a large bowl. Place the flour into a shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together.
Lightly coat each chicken strip in flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip the chicken into the egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Third, generously coat the chicken tenders in the cereal. Place the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Then, flip each piece over until the coating is crispy and the chicken is cooked through, about 10 more minutes. Make sure you check your chicken before removing it from the oven. Chicken should not be medium-rare.*
Remove the chicken from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Carefully place the chicken tenders in a large bowl and pour the buffalo sauce. Gently mix to coat the chicken tenders. Add more sauce if desired.
To prepare the bleu cheese dressing, combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Serve chicken tenders with bleu cheese (or ranch) and celery and carrot sticks.
*The chicken tenders keep very well. You can refrigerate them for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 375°F.
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