Chicken Tenders

You're lying to yourself if you say you are truly OK with always choosing grilled over crispy chicken. Don't get me wrong, a marinated chicken breast on a squishy roll with lettuce, tomato, and a smear of mayo (and maybe a couple slices of avocado or bacon) can be as refreshing as a glass of iced tea, but nothing beats a juicy chicken tender in a crispy golden crust all by itself.

I don't reserve the "treat yo'self" mentality exclusively for the weekends. I prefer to spread treating myself throughout the week, e.g. once a week doughnut mornings, and adhere to a strict everything in moderation including moderation policy. That is why on Monday night, after a tough HIIT workout, I came home and set up a bowl of beaten eggs and Panko breadcrumbs, threw some vegetable oil in my All-Clad over medium high heat, lit some candles, and turned on a fan in the kitchen (not really necessary for my apt to smell like Mcdonald's).

Pan Sauce

Adult

I don't follow a recipe when I make chicken tenders, but here are a few tips that you can apply to whatever recipe you Google:

• Use enough oil. If you think a couple tbs of olive oil in a pan is going to achieve a crispy, even, golden crust, you are a fool and should go back to crying over chicken on your non-stick grill pan. 
• Also, consider using vegetable oil for frying. The oil should come at least halfway up the pieces of chicken. I stamped my tenders out a bit so they were quite thin, but if you are using thicker tenders, adjust the amount of oil carefully.
• Season your chicken tenders with salt and pepper before coating in egg/breadcrumbs.
• Add some seasoning to the breadcrumbs, or just buy already seasoned Italian Breadcrumbs if that feels too complicated (I like Progresso. Don't even act like you're too good for that) I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne to my Panko. 
• Shake off the excess and dip more than once. It's going to be messy, but that's why there is a sink in the kitchen. Once the coating is all fried up, it looks great and the mess won't even matter because you're eating chicken fingers. 
• Make a sauce. Homemade honey mustard is easy like Sunday am. Or, do what I did and make a pan sauce. Once I dumped the oil from frying the tenders into my excess oil coffee can I keep below the sink, I wiped the pan out with a paper towel. I sauteed some garlic in olive oil, added chopped green onion, capers and heirloom cherry tomatoes sliced in half. I then poured in some white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes. 

For posterity, a picture of my niece because we face-timed while I cooked this: