OK, y’all. I’m about to lay a truth bomb on you.
Parents who have just had a baby and already have other young kids need some support.
But that’s not the truth bomb.
Here it is: If that support comes in the form of food (and I hope it does!), it needs to be something everyone – including those young whippersnappers – will eat.
I’m talking chicken nuggets. Macaroni and cheese. Plain rice.
A casserole is awfully nice and awfully convenient for the cook. But a lot of young kids won’t eat foods that are already mixed up.
They want to know exactly what they’re eating.
Or rather, refusing to eat.
I can still remember one of my children bitterly complaining about finding a bit of green onion, which she called salad, in her food: “There is SAWWID IN DIS!”
New parents just don’t have the energy to deal with children yelling about “sawwid.” That’s all I’m saying.
So it is my unsolicited opinion that, if you take food to a family with little kids, you should pull out a cup of plain noodles before you mix them with the sauce. Keep a roasted chicken breast or two off to the side for that picky eater.
Or plan to make something that everyone will (hopefully) eat without complaint.
That’s the reason I finally tried this recipe for chicken tenders. I wanted to take something to a friend who recently had a baby, and I wanted her other kids to enjoy it, too.
I had considered making this recipe several times, but it always seemed a little too fussy for a normal weeknight meal.
And that may be true: If you work full time, as I do, battering and frying something at the end of the day just isn’t usually in the cards.
But – while it is messy – it’s no more difficult than a regular meal.
Plus, the results were absolutely worth it. Z, our middle daughter, proclaimed that they were the best chicken tenders she’d ever put in her mouth.
(Before you ask, yes, I have made chicken tenders from scratch before. Several times, actually. But these were indeed the best.)
CHICKEN TENDERS
(adapted from Once Upon a Chef)
Ingredients:
2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Marinade:
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Coating:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3-4 cups oil
Directions:
■ Trim the icky parts off the chicken breast (you know, the skin and other weird parts that didn’t get processed off). Slice each chicken breast into 1- or 2-inch strips. (Cut the strips in half if they are so long that they will be difficult to cook.) Place the chicken into a large zip-top plastic bag or container with a lid. Add all other marinade ingredients (buttermilk and seasonings) to the bag or container and mix well. Place the chicken into the fridge and allow to marinate for 4 to 24 hours.
■ When ready to cook, pour oil into a deep skillet or Dutch oven and allow to heat over medium heat. While oil heats, prepare a place for the cooked tenders: A cooling rack set over a cookie sheet is a good option, as is a few paper towels set on a plate. Then, mix coating ingredients either in a plastic zip-top bag or on one end of a large sheet pan.
■ If using a bag, drop a few pieces of chicken into the bag, seal and shake to coat. Remove pieces from the bag and lay out on a plate or sheet pan until ready to fry. If using a sheet pan, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture a few at a time by hand. (This is messy work, and none of the tips I’ve tried have ever made it less messy. It just is what it is.)
■ Note: This recipe is unusual in that it seems that the coating sticks better if it is applied immediately before frying. The pieces that I dredged and then allowed to sit for a while tended to lose bits of breading in the oil.
■ Oil is ready for frying when a bit of batter or a small nugget begins to sizzle immediately and rises to the surface. Fry tenders in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. For best results, allow oil a few minutes of recovery time between batches. Cook until the bottom side is golden brown, about 5 minutes, and flip to cook the other side. Remove to prepared plate or rack to cool.
Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].
Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
