lee's chicken fingers

(1 rating)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Stephen Lee Parker
LaGrange, GA

This is my son's favorite. I created this after trying a tempura batter recipe for frying vegetables. It looks like it is going to take a lot of time because of all the ingredients, but it is really quick and easy. It is also easy to make changes to.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Kids and young adults are going to go crazy for these homemade chicken fingers. With a light and fluffy coating, they're full of flavor. There are 3 layers of coating and each one adds a unique flavor. The ginger ale in the tempura batter gives these chicken fingers a slightly sweet taste, and we loved the results. You'll never buy frozen chicken fingers again.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(1 rating)
yield 3 -4
prep time 10 Min
cook time 10 Min
method Deep Fry

Ingredients For lee's chicken fingers

  • 1 lb
    chicken tenders
  • 1
    recipe dry coating (recipe below)
  • 1
    recipe tempura batter (recipe below)
  • 1 c
    bread crumbs
  • oil for frying
  • DRY COATING
  • 2 Tbsp
    all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp
    corn starch
  • 1 tsp
    meat tenderizer
  • 1 tsp
    garlic powder
  • 1 tsp
    onion powder
  • 1 tsp
    thyme, dried
  • 1/2 tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp
    paprika
  • TEMPURA BATTER
  • 1 c
    all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp
    corn starch
  • 1 1/2 c
    ginger ale
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt

How To Make lee's chicken fingers

Test Kitchen Tips
You will have coating ingredients left over if you only fry 1 lb of tenders. We suggest doubling the tempura batter and making 2 lbs of chicken tenders because they'll go quickly. Also, we used an oil thermometer to maintain a constant temperature.
  • Heating the oil.
    1
    Start preheating oil to 375F.
  • Shaking dry coating and chicken tenders in a resealable plastic bag.
    2
    Mix dry coating in a Ziploc bag. Add tenders and shake to coat.
  • Tempura ingredients whisked together in a pie plate.
    3
    Make tempura batter by whisking all ingredients together until just mixed. Don't worry about lumps, and it works best if everything is very cold.
  • Bread crumbs added to a second pie plate.
    4
    Prepare a pie pan or plate with bread crumbs.
  • Dry coated chicken tenders dipped in tempura batter.
    5
    Once the oil is at temperature, in small batches (2-3 tenders), dip in tempura batter and drain.
  • Coating chicken tenders in bread crumbs.
    6
    Next, coat with bread crumbs.
  • Frying tenders in oil.
    7
    Then deep fry for approximately 3 minutes or until done.
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