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Buttermilk Fried Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce! The ultimate Picky Eater Party Food! Hey, you want some waffles with that?
CAUTION: Recipe requires marinating time of 12 – 24 hours. Seriously, yo. Sure, you can let it marinate for less time… it’s your chicken. But go for the 24! It’s worth it.
Serve with Wing Sauce and make Boneless Buffalo Wings.
Ingredients for Betty’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken Fingers:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
buttermilk, to cover (1 – 1 1/2 cups)
hot sauce, to taste (Betty likes Tapatio)
black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp dried parsley
sea salt
black pepper
Oil for frying
TIP: Make the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce when you marinate the chicken. The sauce will have better flavor if it “marinates” overnight, too.
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
2/3 cup mayonnaise (light or regular)
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard (Betty prefers Grey Poupon)
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
dash cayenne pepper
Picky Eater Chicken Finger!
Picky Eater Chicken Finger!
Cut chicken into strips. Place in a plastic container with a snap-on lid. (Or zip-top plastic bag.)
Season with black pepper and your favorite hot sauce. If you don’t have hot sauce, substitute with a dash or two of Cayenne pepper.
Pour enough buttermilk over chicken pieces to cover.
Stir around to coat. Cover and allow to marinate in your refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Seriously, yo.
After chicken has marinated, pour chicken through strainer to remove excess buttermilk and place into a bowl.
Set up a station for breading the chicken pieces. In one pan, combine flour, salt, pepper and parsley (if you have a really picky eater, skip the parsley). Have another empty pan to place the breaded chicken pieces.
Dredge chicken pieces in seasoned flour.
Place in receiving pan lined with wax paper.
Dredge all chicken pieces through flour and layer between sheets of wax paper in pan.
Heat oil in a tall-sided pot (to prevent splattering) or use a deep-fryer if you have one. Oil should be heated to 350 – 375(F). Carefully add chicken pieces to oil in small batches. Fry 6-10 minutes (depending on size) until golden brown, crisp and delicious.
Drain chicken pieces on paper towels.
HOT TIP: Betty likes to use a paper plate under her paper towel for maximum oil-sucking ability. After draining, place on a wire rack on a cookie sheet in a pre-heated 350(F) oven to keep warm and crisp while frying rest of chicken.
Hey Honey, Mustard!
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, dijon mustard, honey, red wine vinegar and a dash of cayenne pepper.
Stir together and refrigerate.
Betty knows people love Buffalo Wings. And what’s better than a Boneless Buffalo Wing? OK, maybe a lot of things. But to make “Wing Sauce” choose your favorite Hot Sauce and add butter or margarine according to label directions.
BTW: Betty uses a Mexican style hot sauce (Tapatio) to season the buttermilk marinade. For the Wing Sauce, Betty likes Louisiana… but Frank’s seems to be the crowd favorite.
Serve Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce, Wing Sauce and Blue Cheese Dressing. Don’t forget the celery sticks! And Ranch Dressing, too? Fried Chicken is party food, so make it fun!
Makes about 16 Chicken Fingers and about 1 cup Honey Mustard.
TIPS FOR MAKING AHEAD AND STORING:
To bread and store for frying at a later time, layer floured chicken in pan with wax paper. Cover and store chicken in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. When you are ready to fry, dredge chicken pieces through seasoned flour again. Fry in hot oil and follow remaining directions.
Store fried chicken strips in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bake in a preheated 375(F) oven for 10-12 minutes. Best if used in next 48 hours.
To store fried chicken strips in the freezer, wrap individual fingers in cling wrap. Double wrap if storing for more than 1 week. Place individually wrapped chicken pieces into larger airtight container. Place frozen chicken strips into a preheated 350(F) oven for 20 minutes. Just like a TV dinner.
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Link to the Picky Eater Chicken Finger video.
Link to the Picky Eater Chicken Finger blog post.
Want some waffles with that?
Link to the The Best Waffles Ever! recipe.
Click for printer-friendly version!
Link to the The Waffler video.
Link to the accompanying The Waffler blog post.
These are like hot sauce-chicken perfection. “Maximum oil-sucking ability” is important in a kitchen. Good to know!
Hi,
So can you use one of those tall pots normally used for boiling water and making pasta?
–Steve
Thanks, Marilyn! They are pretty tasty… and who couldn’t use a little maximum oil-sucking once in awhile?
Hi Steve!
Yes, the two pots I have for making pasta/boiling water are perfect for this. One is 5″ in height, the other is 8.” I like to use the 5″ one because it is wider… that’s the one in the pics above :) Be sure to use long tongs to keep your skin as far away from the bubbling oil as possible, too.
Let me know if you try it and take some pictures for me, y’all!!!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Betty
Thanks.
I think I might try it. One thing that is very important is the type of oil you use. I found out that frying does not mean it’s bad for you.
Check this out from Spices of Life, the show I worked on last year:
Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health answers the question, “How can it be fried and good for you?”
Video: http://blip.tv/file/324073/
Betty, these are so AWESOME ! After cooking up a batch, I only got 1 little piece but it was so good. FYI; Due to health reasons and just an ounce of prevention here, I discarded the left over marinate sauce.
Hi!
You know that you shot to the right target with this honey mustard -it’s my favourite for everything!!
With chicken is so perfect combination! I’ll take seriously to marinate at least for 12 to 24 hours!
By the way I take an order of waffles too! :)
Gera .:. sweetsfoods
As an Alabamian, may I just say that you just won over the hearts of every Southerner alive!
OH MY these look good!!!!!
Not just good but SLAP YOUR MAMA Good!!!
You, my dear, are anything BUT an average Betty!
Christy
i’m gonna make this just to be able to dip in those hot sauces, cool, lol
Hey Steve,
Great video! And yes, trans fats are evil and I think at this point, removed from most cooking oils and shortenings. I’ve also heard that if your oil is the proper temperature, your food will retain less oil too. I hope you give this a try – you can’t eat turkey all weekend can you?
Hi Phoenix!
Thanks for mentioning to discard the buttermilk marinade! Definitely don’t need that hanging around. So happy to hear the chicken was great :)
Gera!!
Mmm, I love the Honey Mustard and Chicken combo and the Chicken and Waffles combo too. Salty and sweet deliciousness.
The longer you marinate, the better it will be…
Southern Plate!
Truly, a comment that means so much to me. If anyone knows their fried chicken, it’s an Alabamian! Thank you so much!
Jason,
Thanks for coming over from Flickr! I must say, it is debatable what people love more: the chicken or the sauces they get to try with every bite :)
Love y’all!
Betty
Yum, that looks sooo good! I love spicy fried chicken and honey mustard is always a winner.
These look awesome!
I’m really looking forward to making these! I use a similar marinade approach for making “regular” fried chicken and I know just how tasty it is. And thanks for the advice on freezing! :-)
i added some panko bread crumbs.. mmmmm
your the best betty
if i can not get Tapatio (cause I don’t live in USA) can i do it with Tabasco????
Thanks gaga & gamergirl!
Glad you like the tips on freezing PaniniKathy! It really does work :)
Great addition of the panko bread crumbs solomon! Extra crunchy :)
Hi Michelle,
If you are a big fan of Tabasco you can. I would use a couple dashes of Cayenne Pepper instead though :) Hope this helps…
Send me pictures of your fried chicken y’all!
I made these for my 3 yr old grandson…MINUS the hot sauce. He is THAT picky! He loved them, and the ranch dipping sauce that I used. This was almost too easy. Thanks!
WOO HOO, pam! Thank you so much for letting me know the chicken fingers turned out well AND it was so easy! You have a very lucky grandson to have a grandmother like you :)
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Betty
Dear Betty
Im also a first time cook could you please tell me why my sauce tastes of egg?
Many thanks
Row
Hi Row,
Your sauce for this recipe? Hmmm… there are no eggs in the Honey Mustard… Maybe check to make sure your mayonnaise, mustard and honey are fresh?
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Betty