Rebecca's Chicken Fingers |
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Prep Time: 60 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 60 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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A friend graciously shared this recipe with me over 25 years ago, and it's probably my most requested dish. It 'travels' beautifully, so it's perfect for potlucks, tailgate parties, or that long drive to the beach. It's fairly time-consuming, but I hope you will agree that the results make it worthwhile. My apologies that some of the measurements are guesstimates, since this is a recipe that's very difficult to 'quantify'. Once you get into it, though, it's not difficult at all to figure out how much you need of any particular ingredient. Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (less is fine -- if preparing more, you'll need to make a second batch of marinade) |
1 quart low-fat cultured buttermilk |
1 egg |
2 teaspoons garlic powder, to taste |
4 tablespoons lemon-pepper seasoning, to taste |
1 pint cooking oil |
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided |
3 teaspoons salt, divided |
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, divided |
seasoning salt, to taste |
Directions:
1. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Cut chicken into small strips (the perfect finger is about two bites' worth- and, unless you're Iron Chef, kitchen shears do the job a lot quicker than a knife).
3. Pour buttermilk into a large, non-reactive container; add raw egg, stirring until well-combined.
4. Add garlic powder to mixture (I don't measure, but give the container at least 5 or 6 good, hard shakes).
5. Sprinkle lemon-pepper seasoning heavily over the buttermilk mixture (shake until the top is totally black).
6. Stir seasonings into buttermilk and then add chicken pieces; stir again so that chicken is thoroughly coated.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8. When ready to cook, pour enough oil into a heavy skillet to cover chicken pieces halfway.
9. Heat to 375 degrees.
10. While oil is heating, mix 1 cup flour with approximately 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
11. Remove chicken pieces from marinade and dredge in batter to coat, replenishing batter as necessary (the buttermilk makes the flour'clump', so it's best to mix smaller amounts and add to it as you go).
12. Fry chicken in hot oil until well-browned; turn and repeat, cooking on second side until done.
13. Remove chicken fingers to platter or cookie sheet lined with paper towels to absorb excess grease.
14. Sprinkle generously with McCormick's Season-All immediately!
15. Serve hot or at room temperature.
16. You can make a dipping sauce, but I never do because this one can stand on its' own!
17. NOTE: If transporting for a picnic or whatever, do NOT put in closed ziplock bags while still hot (the steam will make the crust get terribly soggy!).
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