Finger Foods
Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
Crispy buttermilk chicken tenders with paprika and garlic, marinated ahead and fried until golden — the base batch from the Bible-study hosting video.
Watch the video
From the video How I Prepare Ahead for Guests | Easy Finger Foods & Stress-Free Hosting. Watch on YouTube for the full walkthrough.
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Cook
- 6 minutes
- Chill
- 2 hours
- Total
- 2 hours 31 minutes
- Serves
- 1 batch
Ingredients
Chicken
- Chicken breast, cut into tenders
Marinade
- 500 ml buttermilk
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne or chili powder, optional
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard, optional
Coating
- 200 g flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Oil, for frying
Instructions
- 1
Cut the chicken breast into tenders.
- 2
Stir the buttermilk with the salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and, if you are using them, the cayenne or chili powder and Dijon mustard.
- 3
Add the chicken, cover, and marinate for 2–6 hours. In the video, Mariam left it overnight. She said this can be done up to two days ahead, though she prefers the night before.
- 4
Mix the flour with the salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and baking powder.
- 5
For a craggier coating, drizzle 2–3 tablespoons of the buttermilk marinade into the flour and rub it through with your fingers before breading.
- 6
Take each piece straight from the buttermilk and press it firmly into the flour.
- 7
Fry at about 170–175°C until the tenders are golden and the chicken reaches 74°C internally, usually 4–6 minutes depending on thickness.
Notes & serving ideas
- This is the base recipe. Mariam tripled it for the Bible study in the video. The gathering ate about one third of that larger batch.
- The written recipe does not give a weight for the chicken. In the video she used chicken breast, cut into tenders.
- The chill time shown is the short end of the 2–6 hour marinade. Overnight works as well.
- Cayenne or chili powder and the Dijon mustard in the marinade are optional.
