Wouldn’t it be nice if your kids approached dinner at your house with the same gusto that they do at the local pizza joint? This homemade chicken fingers recipe attempts to replicate the kid-menu dining experience at home in as healthy a way as possible.–Alanna Stang, Pilar Guzman, Jenny Rosenstrach
LC The Way Things Are Note
Curious–and not a little scared–about the strange and funnily named fillers that find their way into our pathetically processed food? Us, too. Which is why we prefer to pass on the freezer aisle and make our own. Well, that and the fact that there’s no comparison in terms of taste between what you find at a restaurant and the recipe below. Also curious about the history of chicken fingers, we can help you with that, too.
Chicken Fingers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/4 cups cornflake crumbs
- Olive oil, for frying
- Ketchup (what else?) for dipping
Directions
- 1. Pound the living hell out of your chicken breasts. (Don’t bother continuing with this recipe if you skip this step. It’s by far the most important–for many reasons.) Cut the chicken into strips or chunks that closely resemble the size and shape of the chicken fingers or nuggets at your kids’ favorite restaurant.
- 2. Set up your dredging station with a rimmed plate containing the eggs, a plate with a mound of flour (that you’ve salted and peppered), and a plate with the cornflake crumbs.
- 3. Dredge your pounded chicken fingers first in the flour, then in the egg, then in the crumbs. Be sure to jiggle the chicken in between dips and dredges to allow any excess ingredients to fall away.
- 4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the chicken in a tablespoon or so of olive oil for about 2 to 3 minutes each side. Serve hot–with a great big dollop of ketchup, if you must.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Baked Panko Chicken Tenders with Basil Aioli from Love and Olive Oil
- Panko & Chili Crusted Oven Fried Chicken Fingers from The Hungry Mouse
- Judy Hesser's Oven-Fried Chicken from Leite's Culinaria
- Port and Paprika Chicken Bites from Leite's Culinaria
Chicken Fingers Recipe © 2010 Alanna Stang, Pilar Guzman, Jenny Rosenstrach. Photo © 2010 Marcus Nilsson. All rights reserved.
[Marilyn Canna] What a lot of fun these were to make! I can see why the recipe appeared in a family meal cookbook. Kids would love every part of the process—from pounding the hell (heck?) out of the chicken breast pieces to the dredging process. Good set of kitchen skill sets to learn, too. However, not all of the ingredients are listed (olive oil) nor are the amounts given in some cases (salt and pepper per flour portion) or exactly what they should be. I halved the recipe, but would still err on the side of having more egg and more cornflakes than what my new ratios came to. If a loose recipe doesn’t bother you or your kids, everyone should be fine. When it came to sautéing, I started with olive oil spray but soon added poured oil as needed. In a nonstick pan, this came to a good tablespoon of oil from the bottle. Sauté time was just right per side. As the pieces cook, you may wish to put them on a warmed plate or in foil in a warm oven. Like exposed fingers in the cold, these cool off fast.
These aren’t just for kids! Try using a whole breast, not cut up. Then follow the same steps. I topped with a rosemary white pepper gravy, and it was awesome! Kinda like country fried chicken steak.
Okay, Tripp, you asked for the brine recipe, now it’s my turn to ask for the rosemary white pepper gravy recipe…
I want to try this just based on the fact that I get to pound the living hell out of the chicken. I love instructions like this. Looks really good and I’ll be trying this out. And my kids are 18 and 23 so there you go, fun for all ages. *grabs her mallet*
As good a reason as any to make it, Kim Bee! For kids of all ages, we might add…
Confession time – for all the beautifully prepared, fancy froo-froo dishes I’ve ever prepared in my kitchen, I’d swap half of them for a plate of these chicken fingers. I’m guess I’m just a kid at heart and always will be. Second confession – I consume ketchup like a six year old. There I said it.
Welcome to LC Kitchen Confessional, Lana. I hereby absolve you of the need to feel any guilt…let’s see a show of hands as to how many other adults have a thing for chicken fingers. I certainly do. (I once came home to E in the kitchen pounding chicken breasts, so proud to be making my favorite bar snack…)