How to Make Excellent Fried Chicken Strips

If your family members love fried chicken, you'll want to learn how to make excellent fried chicken strips. You may even save a few bucks when your kids chose your fried chicken strips over the fast-food option.

Good stuff in, good stuff out

You should start with a great piece of chicken. You can purchase precut tenderloins, or save and buy whole chicken breasts or breast filets and cut them yourself. For best results, buy at least a day or two before you plan on serving the chicken strips. Freshest is best.

Tenderize

Tenderize the breasts first. Do it the way Mom did and pound them with a kitchen mallet. This will also thin the breast for faster cooking. If you have time, you can brine the breasts by rubbing them with salt, adding lemon juice and sticking them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Soaking the chicken in buttermilk is another old-school tenderizing tactic.

You can cut the chicken into strips at this point if the chicken is not already in that state.

Marinate

If you do have the time to brine the breasts, you can marinate them as well. Simply rub the breasts with spices and then place them in a plastic bag with olive oil and two minced garlic cloves. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

You can use any spices you prefer, but try:

- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

- 3 teaspoons black pepper

- 1 teaspoon paprika

- 2 teaspoons garlic powder (if you didn't use the garlic cloves)

- 1/4 teaspoon cloves

- 1 teaspoon onion powder

You may want to cut back on the pepper if you have toddlers, or use less salt if you're watching your sodium.

Breading

Now it's time to bread the chicken. You'll need flour (preferably bread flour) and corn meal. Get a paper bag or two plastic grocery bags. Make a small mound inside the bag with half flour and half corn meal. Add more corn meal if you want a crisper strip. You may also add some additional spices to the flour/corn meal mixture if you like.

It's optional in this case, but you may want to dip each strip in milk or eggs (or a mixture of the two). It will make the breading mix stick to the chicken a bit better and add texture to the finished product. However, it also adds calories.

Close the bag tightly and shake up the flour/corn meal/spice mix. Then, take the chicken out of the fridge, add it to the bag and shake vigorously. Peek inside the bag to ensure the chicken pieces are completely coated with the breading mix.

Frying

Heat a nonstick pan or heavy skillet on medium-high heat for a few minutes. Then add 1/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil. Very hot oil is key to sealing in the juices. Remember, breast meat is very lean and can dry out easily. You want the chicken in and out quickly, just long enough to make it golden brown.

When the chicken is done cooking, set it on top of paper towels to drain excess oil. Allow the chicken to sit for three to five minutes.

This is just one way to make excellent, Southern-style fried chicken strips. There are many variations to try, like batter instead of bread, or deep frying rather than using a skillet or pan. Keep experimenting to create your own fried chicken strips recipe.