Cooking the BEST Chicken Tenders on Earth

These finger-licking good Hot Honey Chicken Tenders are a must-make for family dinners. Breaded and deep-fried chicken tenders are brushed with a homemade hot honey sauce, giving them a ton of crunch and the perfect balance of sweet heat in every bite.

→ Recipe: PRINT THIS RECIPE: https://www.billyparisi.com/hot-honey-chicken-tenders/

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→ Ingredients

For the Marinade:
• 2 pounds chicken tenders
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
• 5 finely minced garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Breading:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic granules
• 2 teaspoons onion granules
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• oil for frying
For the Sauce:
• 1 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
• ½ stick unsalted butter

Watch more recipe videos:
Loaded Chicken Nachos: https://youtu.be/JpmpRq6yEmY
Smoked Fried Wings: https://youtu.be/Z0sGcg39Ywc

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Classical culinary expertise meets home cooking!

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Hot Honey Chicken Tenders has taken over the internet with over 100 million views worldwide. But with so many versions, I wanted to find the best one, the ultimate tender. I’m going to show you my version on how to get the perfect breading and fry them until crispy, golden brown with breading that doesn’t fall off. Then I’m going to pair it up with the ultimate combination sauce of sweet and spicy. I tested all of them and now I’m going to show you the one that beats them all. I’ve got 2 lbs of fresh chicken tenders for this recipe. And if you want to improvise, feel free to thinly slice some chicken breasts about a/2 in thick. It’ll work. Okay, for those tenders, they will have a tendon running through them. Now, you do not have to remove these at all. In fact, I’m not going to, but in case it bothers you, here’s how you remove them. Using a fork on one hand, place the tendon between the fork tines. Then using a paper towel in your other hand, get a nice grip and simply pull up on the tendon to remove it. Super easy to do, but potentially tedious. Let’s make these immediately better by marinating them. Add them to a bowl along with 1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk. The lactic acid in that buttermilk will help break down and tenderize the chicken. Next up, pour in a/4 cup of white vinegar, a few dashes of hot sauce, which is about one tablespoon. Then I’m going to finally grate in five cloves of garlic into the bowl. Finally, I’m going to season it well with two teaspoons of coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Now, use your hands and get in there and thoroughly mix everything to get those flavors maring. Then cover with plastic before marinating. And like I said before, the brine is going to tend to rise the chicken, but also the longer you can let it marinate, the better. At least 2 hours all the way up to 24. For me, I’m going in the fridge overnight or about 16 to 18 hours. If you have the time, do it. They’ll be that much better. However long you decide to marinate them for, whenever you’re ready to cook them, you want to start to get a few things in line, like the frying oil. I’ve got a 5 C enamel pot, which I’m going to fill halfway with oil. Now, any neutral flavored oil works fine. Let’s start heating it up. So, boost it up to medium, low, mediumish. And in the meantime, we’re getting super close to making probably the crunchiest, most delicious chicken tenders around. But first, the breading. I like to use cake tins for this, but any shallow wide bowl is great. In the first bowl, I’m adding in 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Then one cup of cornstarch. This is what will help create a crispier, lighter, less oily coating. Then, for a little secret to make the breading puff up even more, one tspoon of baking powder. Now, let’s not forget about those seasonings. 2 tsps of garlic granules, 2 tsps of onion granules, 2 tsps of sweet or smoked paprika, a/ teaspoon of ground black pepper, and 1 and 1/2 tesp of coarse salt. Using a whisk or a fork, mix everything together until it’s combined. Now, for the wash, I’m going to crack four large eggs into that other pan. Then, to use up the remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk you bought, add that in there along with a gentle season of coarse salt and pepper. Maybe like a/ quarter to a half teaspoon each. Just like the breading, whisk the eggs until smooth, like making scrambled eggs. The egg wash should be not too thin and not too thick, maybe just a hair thinner than a crepe batter. Okay, it’s almost cooking time. But first, you’re going to want to ensure you have a sheetpan with a rack over top to set the breaded tenders on while you bread them up. Then, let’s grab those tenders and bring them out of the fridge. Take off the plastic wrap and it’s go time. Here’s the process. Take the tenders from the buttermilk rind to the seasoned flour, then to the egg wash, then back to the flour, then finally to the rack and repeat. Then, let’s get it. You can do these a few at a time, but let’s just do one to make sure you’re good. Take the tender from the brine, drain off any excess, then right into that seasoned flour. Press down on the tender from all sides to make sure it’s coated. Now, lift it up, shake off any excess, and go right over to that egg wash. Coat it on all sides completely. covering the flour in the whisked eggs. Now, drain off any excess like before and back to dredging in the flour, pressing down to completely cover it. And the double dredge is where it’s at. This makes sure you get those crispy ridges so that the sauce doesn’t make the breading soggy. And a big thing here, don’t forget to let it rest. That’s a huge secret into making sure the breading doesn’t fall off. Do not skip these crucial steps. Every single one is so important to making the crunchiest, most delicious tenders you will ever eat. Now, set them to the side on the rack to rest for up to 15 minutes while you repeat the breading process. Now, don’t worry if you see a few wet spots coming through on the breading. It literally means nothing. I promise you, and I’ll prove it to you in a few seconds. But first, let’s get these over to the cooktop and see where the oil’s at. I want it at 375F because these cold breaded up tenders are going to immediately drop the heat to 350F, which is where I actually want to fry them at. Perfect. I’m going to now add up to six tenders to that hot oil. And they’ll take about 3 and 1/2 to 4 minutes to cook through and create a beautiful crispy brown crust all around or until they reach about 160° F internally. Don’t worry, they’ll keep cooking when you set them to the side. golden, crispy, and bubbling. Exactly what we’re looking for. Don’t rush this part. If you have to do it in batches, do it. And also, don’t overcrowd the pot too much or you’re going to lose that temperature sweet spot. These look absolutely perfect. Beautifully browned, cooked through, and crispy crunchy. I’m going to use a spider strainer to remove them and set them to the side on a separate rack to drain off any excess oil. And yeah, I’m probably going to gank one of these. They keep winking at me. These will easily hold and stay crunchy and hot while you cook the rest of your tenders in batches. And real quick, if you’re wondering how to reuse this oil once it’s done cooling, be sure to check out my lom salt video. But first, I hope you didn’t forget about that hot honey sauce. So, while these are frying, we can quickly make it. In a small twoourt pot, I’m adding in one cup of honey, followed up with some heat. two teaspoons of hot sauce, two teaspoons of red pepper flakes, then one teaspoon of cayenne, and then of course to tame all that spice, I’m going to add in two teaspoons of white vinegar and a half stick of unsalted butter. Just turn the heat to low and cook and stir it just until the butter is melted. Be sure to give it a try to make sure it’s got enough heat for you. This is so good. I can’t wait for you to try it. Once the chicken is done, let’s bring the rack over. And do you hear that? Don’t you just hate it when things are just too crispy? Delicious. Now, using a brush or a spoon, coat the tenders on all sides in that goodness. And yeah, I need to try this. But let’s go one step further with a few more dippers, shall we? Beginning with my world famous homemade ranch. Just ask the people that have made it. All right, I digress. In a bowl, 1 and 1/2 cups of mayonnaise, 3/4 cup of buttermilk, 2 tsps of dried dill, 2 tsps of garlic granules, 2 tsps of onion granules, salt, pepper, and whisk away. Try not to drink this one. Okay, now while that hot honey brings the temperature up of everything, that ranch is going to cool it down. Oh yeah, and I’ve got two other ones that are awesome with this. Here you go. Let’s make one of my favorite tend sauces ever. honey mustard, 1 and 1/2 cups of mayonnaise, 13 cup of yellow mustard, a/4 cup of don mustard, a/4 cup of honey, and then finally two teaspoons of white vinegar. Use a whisk and mix it up to combine. This right here is seriously ridiculous. And real quick, if you aren’t making a homemade mayo, Dukes is where it’s at. I said what I said. Now, the chicken tenders are almost done cooking, but I think I have time for one more sauce. Blue cheese, 3/4 cups of mayonnaise, a half2 cup of buttermilk, 3/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles, half cup of full fat sour cream, a dash of worser sauce, 2 tsp of white vinegar, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of garlic granules, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, a season of coarse salt, and freshly cracked pepper, and mix it up. All these are optional, but even just one of these is well worth it. I mean, come on. How could you not with the slow-mo? Food just looks better at 120 frames. Just like everything, it’s not just a recipe. It’s about taking something that’s really simple and turning it into something that is truly unforgettable. I mean, that’s what cooking is all about. All right, let’s get in this. That was ridiculous. Listen to that crunch. I meme.