Gettin' Classy: Buttermilk-Brined Chicken Tenders

I have to be honest here, I haven't ordered chicken tenders out in public since '93. They are fun to make though, and a lot of my readers have kids, and kids like these fried little puppies almost as much as, well, puppies. Not fried puppies of course, because that would be wrong. Moving on...

I want to take a moment to thank all of Japan for panko. This incarnation of bread crumbs has changed my life. If it can be breaded and fried in my house, it will be breaded in panko. Always crunchy, never heavy. LOVE. IT. (You MUST try it on fried okra. It's a revelation)

The marinade I use here is almost the same as what I use on my classic fried chicken. You may think there's a lot of salt here, and there is, but you don't taste it in the finished product. I won't go into the science of brining (if you e-mail me I'll be happy to explain), but know that the magic of food science is at work here. What you end up with isn't salty at all, but unfailingly juicy and flavorful. You can also probably tell from the picture at the end of this recipe that I let my tenders get a little darker than most folks. I assure you this was on purpose. I like the added flavor of a dark brown crust. Not, mind you, burnt. Just darker than average. Alright, let's fry some stuff!



Buttermilk-Brined Chicken Tenders

2lbs chicken tenders

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup honey

2 cups buttermilk

2 Tablespoons coarse kosher salt

2 teaspoons old bay seasoning

1 Tablespoon Sriracha

for breading:

1 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten with 1 cup milk

2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Oil for frying

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, honey, and salt until honey is melted and salt is mostly dissolved (technically the honey won't "melt," but it reaches a nice fluid consistency). Whisk in the buttermilk, old bay and Sriracha to combine. Add the chicken and refrigerate 1-4 hours (4 would be ideal, don't go much beyond that though), turning occasionally.

I almost didn't take a picture of this step. It's not exactly pretty...

Dump the chicken into a colander and let the marinade drain off. Set up your breading station: the flour, egg/milk combo, and panko each get their own bowl, and place a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Dredge each chicken tender in the flour and shake off the excess, then dunk in the egg wash, and coat in panko. Set each tender on the rack.

Ready to meet their destiny

Once you're done breading, pour 1 inch of oil in a heavy frying pan and heat on medium to 350* (you do have a candy/oil thermometer, right?). While the oil heats, 2 things are going on with your resting tenders: 1.) the coating will "set," giving you a crispier result and 2.) it will take the chill off, which will allow them to cook more evenly and thoroughly.  

*if you have a fry daddy or deep fryer, definitely use that. I don't have one yet, so I do it the old fashioned way: in a cast-iron skillet. Please note that I do accept gifts and bribes, though...

Drop the tenders in the hot oil 2 or 3 at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Don't overcrowd! Fry about 5 or 6 minutes, turning once, until deeply browned. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve to happy childern with their favorite dipping sauce and fries. Or mashed potatoes. Or if you want to be classy like me,  lemon-thyme orzo*...

*Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta and a favorite in our house. Just boil till al dente, toss with melted butter, salt, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and a couple teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves

Try these for dinner tonight. Hope you enjoy them!

Perfect for Mondays: Quicky Chicky Casserole

Hi, my name is Christy and I have the tendency to behave like a small child. Hence, the name of this recipe.

All of the recipes I've posted so far take up a little more time than the average family has on a weeknight, so I thought I'd share one of my favorite faster dinners. Serve this puppy up with some salad and crusty bread and you have a meal!

Can I toot my own horn here? I mean, look at that crust!

In all honesty, this casserole was born out of pure curiosity. I saw Campbell's cream of onion soup at the store and grabbed it, wondering "what on earth can we do with THIS?!?!" Then, one night when I was far too tired to hang out in the kitchen much longer than it takes to pour a glass of cheap Shiraz, I raided my pantry and went to work. I was kind of craving chicken and macaroni and cheese, but wanted to take the interstate route to the flavors instead of back roads. There it was, collecting dust in the cabinet- the cream of onion soup. I knew I'd found a use for it.

Can I confess something here? I LOVE onion with a good sharp cheddar. This is no casual affair, though. I will take a slice of cheddar, put it on a cracker, and top it with a piece of raw onion. It is divinely funky, and you should try it. Unless you want to kiss your spouse within the next 24 hours.

This is a great use for leftover cooked chicken*, or the leftover turkey that will invade your fridge near the end of this month. I am usually not a fan of bagged shredded cheese -- so do yourself a favor and don't use it here. You can grate cheese while the noodles cook.

Anyhoo, cheese + onion + chicken + noodles = delicious. So here's the recipe:

 Ingredients

1 ten-ounce package egg noodles
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can Campbell's condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can Campbell's condensed cream of onion soup
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste

topping:
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

 Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly coat a 3qt. casserole with butter or cooking spray.

Cook the noodles in boiling salted water for about 8 minutes. You want them just barely underdone, since they'll be going into the oven. While the noodles cook, mix up the topping; just toss the cheese, panko and melted butter in a small bowl till the crumbs are well coated in butter.

A match made in processed food heaven. Notice my "cookbook" - currently only available in raggedy handwritten form.

Drain the noodles and return them to the pot. Stir in the soups, milk, Lawry's and chicken. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Hey, look! It's NOT my Le Cruset! (but it IS my Paula Deen cookware)

PLEASE taste this concotion before you go all willy-nilly with the salt. The soups are high in sodium, the Lawry's has salt, and if you are using leftover or rotisserie chicken it may already be seasoned. You may not need to add any at all!

Dump the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the topping evenly all over. You should get a nice thick layer. (Optional -  sometimes I'll top the topping with some fresh ground pepper and a little fresh or dried thyme)

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, till hot and bubbly. To get the topping a nice crispy brown, I'll turn on the broiler for about 2 minutes before I take it out (just be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn). Let it stand about 5 minutes before serving.

* "but Christy, I don't have any leftover chicken!" HOGWASH! Theres no excuse to not have chicken ready to go! The next time you cook chicken breasts for your family, cook 2 extra pieces. Then cut them up and toss them in the  fridge or freezer, depending on when you plan to use them. It doesn't add a lot to that night's cooking time, and it takes a lot off of the next night's!

Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think ~ and as always, please share on facebook and twitter!

The Stuff of Legends: Edisto Mac

Well, local legends, at least. Local legends among the 40 or so people who have tasted it. Just trust me, my macaroni and cheese will make you want to slap your grandmother. And she'll thank you.

I finally perfected the stuff two years ago while vacationing at Edisto Beach with friends, which is why I've taken to calling it Edisto Mac. And feel special, dear reader(s), for I have not shared the full recipe with anyone but my Pug until now. Not even my husband is allowed in the circle of cheese trust. In fact, we got in an argument this time because he wanted to help and I didn't want him to because then he might steal my secrets and I'm just going to throw down my whisk and cry if you don't stop trying to steal my recipes.... but you don't need all that. You just need the recipe. OK. Deep breath. The magician unveils the prestige....

NOTE: This is not some speedy, whip it up in 30 minutes thing. It's slow. And that's why it's good. If you're looking for a quick dinner, see the next post - "Quicky Chicky Casserole". That is not a joke, by the way.


Edisto Mac   8-10 servings

Here's the ingredient roundup:
1 16-ounce package elbow macaroni
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon each good Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I prefer Texas Pete)
12 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar
     Plus 4 more ounces grated sharp cheddar for the top
1 8-ounce container sour cream (I prefer daisy brand)
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

And here's what you do with them:
Preheat the oven to 375
Cook 1 16-ounce package of elbow macaroni in plenty of boiling, salted water for about 8 minutes. it should be pretty al dente at this point. It will be perfect by the time you're all done. Drain it in a colander set in the sink and leave it there while you cook the sauce.

Look at that lighting...pretty, pretty pasta.

My theory on leaving it there is twofold- a) it will continue to absorb water and "cook" more; b) all that excess water will be GONE by the time you add the pasta to the sauce, thereby not watering down the sauce and giving you a curdy mess.

Wipe the pasta pot dry, place it over medium-high heat, and toss in 5 Tablespoons of butter. Not, I repeat NOT margarine. Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic and I do not use it. EVER! When the butter is melted, whisk in 5 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Whisk constantly and quickly. You are creating a roux- you want it a nice blond color and nice and smooth. Then slowly add this, still whisking constantly:

Nectar of the gods, from happy cows

4 cups of milk. Yes, it must be whole milk. I suppose it doesn't have to be organic, but I promise you it tastes different, so use it if you can. Here's a picture of the roux, by the way...

Yes the spoon is blurry. It's an action shot.

Keep whisking friends, until the sauce is barely simmering and thickened. Id' say thicker than heavy cream. It should coat the back of a spoon. At this point you will add the secret ingredients. They are secret because if you tell people that's what you put in there they will look at you like you're insane. Trust me, OK?

The mac and cheese secret flavor trifecta

Yep, 1 teaspoon each of the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Texas Pete. You cant taste them so much in the finished product, but they add a certain something and enhance the cheesiness factor. It's what makes mine different. And use these brands if you can. Consistency is key in copycatting recreating a dish.

Now you can take the pot off the heat and whisk in the 12 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese till it's completely melted. I ALWAYS use an 8 ounce block of Kraft Wisconsin sharp, and half an 8 ounce block of extra sharp. This time I used Cabot brand extra sharp white cheddar, and will do that from now on. It was SO GOOD... (The other half of the block gets sprinkled on top, BTW.) After the cheese is mixed in, stir in the sour cream.

Once all is well blended taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. You must taste, otherwise you will not know what it needs, right? So many people don't taste what they're cooking while they are cooking it...big mistake. Fold in the well drained pasta and taste again.

Now, I always make my mac in cheese in my Le Cruset dutch oven, which can go straight from stove to oven so this is where I would sprinkle the top with the remaining 4 ounces of shredded cheese and toss the whole thing in there, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes. If you are not blessed enough to own something you can take from stove-top to oven, pour it into a lightly buttered, deep casserole dish. Make sure it's a nice deep dish, because that's what will make the difference between a dry mac and a creamy mac. Then of course top with cheese and bake. On this occasion, I was taking it to a BBQ where I wanted to keep it warm. SO....

It ended up in the ceramic insert from my crock-pot, which is of course oven safe. I baked it as usual, then when we got to our friend's house I just plugged it in, put the lid on and set it to warm (I do this on holidays too. It will hold in the crock-pot surprisingly well).

Sadly I don't have a picture of the finished product, but trust that it was golden and bubbly and delicious.

I hope you appreciate and enjoy this recipe. As I hit the publish button, know that my hands are shaking from sharing the full recipe with the whole world. Or at least my Mom and my friend Kristi, whom I know will read it.