It’s easy to pop frozen chicken fingers into the oven, but there’s something to be said for making your own from scratch. These chipotle-honey chicken crispers have just the right amount of heat — carefully paired with the ideal level of sweet — to give them the perfect flavor. It’s a unique chicken dish, inspired by Spicy Southern Kitchen, that is batter-dipped, breaded and fried, and then doused in sauce. Delish! This recipe has three distinct elements, and they all have their own set of ingredients. Each contributes to give these chicken crispers their layers of unique taste:
The honey chipotle sauce, of course, contains honey and chipotle chili powder, along with other saucy basics like apple cider vinegar and ketchup. These ingredients are combined, brought to a boil, then set aside. The batter has familiar ingredients, including egg, milk, garlic powder and flour. Once the batter is finished, it, too, is set aside (sense a theme?). The breading mixture gives this recipe even more of a little kick with some added paprika and black pepper — and yes, make it then set it aside.
The magic begins once you’ve created your breading, batter and sauce. First, dip your chicken tenderloin in the batter, and then place it in the breading. Gently hand rolling the chicken through your breading ensures each delicious morsel clings to the batter-dipped chicken. Once you’ve dressed all your chicken crispers, it’s time to fry them up. ALSO TRY: Air fryer fried chicken The fried and drained crispers are placed in a bowl and, once all your chicken pieces are done, add the chipotle-honey sauce to the bowl and stir to combine. Ta-da! These would make a terrific main course for dinner, or a lively and unique dish at your neighbor’s potluck gathering. For home meals, consider a fresh veggie-filled spinach salad or a mellow bean salad as a solid accompaniment to this feisty dish.
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Boil chipotle sauce in saucepan
Add garlic powder to flour mix
Whisk together batter mixture
Add flour to batter
Dip chicken in batter
Dredge chicken in flour mixture
Lay chicken crispers on baking sheet before frying
Fry chicken until golden brown
Pour honey-chipotle sauce over the cooked chicken crispers
Coat chicken in sauce
These chicken crispers are a delicious, sweet and spicy treat
Chicken crispers – oh, how you shine!
Delicious for dipping!
Courses Main Course
2/3 cup honey1/4 cup water1/4 cup ketchup1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Batter
1 egg1/2 cup milk1/2 cup chicken broth1-1/4 teaspoons salt1/4 teaspoon pepper1/4 teaspoon garlic powder3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Breading
1-1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon paprika1/2 teaspoon black pepper1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Chicken
12 chicken tenderloins6-8 cups vegetable or peanut oilSalt
Batter Breading Chicken
