Chicken Strips

These chicken strips were tasty and a big hit with my kids.  They gobbled them up, which is unusual for them.

Adapted from: Once Upon A Chef
Difficulty: Moderate
Category: Freezer to Pan
Recipe Column: AC



Marinade
6 lbs chicken breasts, cut into slices
3 cups milk
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp salt
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp paprika

Breading
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
8 eggs
3/4 cup milk
5 cups breadcrumbs
7 tbsp butter, melted

1. Combine the milk, lemon juice, salt and spices in a large zip-top bag or container.  Add the chicken strips and mix to combine.  Let the chicken marinade in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Set up your breading station with three wide, shallow bowls or pans.  I use cake and pie pans.  Combine the flour, salt and pepper in one pan.  Whisk together the eggs and milk in another pan and combine the breadcrumbs and melted butter in the last pan.  You may not be able to fit everything in the pans to start with.  I started with about 2/3 of each ingredient in the pan and then added more as the levels went down.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade.  Coat the chicken strips with flour.  Shake off the excess flour and move to the egg pan.  Coat the strips with eggs and move to the breadcrumbs.  Coat the strips with breadcrumbs and move it to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  You can do up to two layers of chicken strips on a pan separated by a layer of parchment.  It helps to keep one hand for the dry ingredients and one from the wet to prevent your hands from getting covered in breading.

Breading station.

To freeze:

Freeze the chicken strips on the sheet pan then transfer to a bag or container for storage.

To serve:

To Bake:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the frozen chicken strips on a sheet pan lined with foil.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is brown on the outside and has reached 160 degrees on the inside.

To Pan Fry:

Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan.  Once the oil is hot, add the chicken strips in a single layer.  Don't overcrowd the pan.  Once the strips are brown on the the first side, flip them.  Once they are brown on both sides, check the internal temperature.  If the chicken has not reached 160 degrees, transfer the strips to a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven and bake until they have reached 160 degrees.  I should only take a few minutes.

Serve with a dipping sauce and whatever sides you want.  We had it with broccoli salad from the grocery store deli and I made a type of fry sauce with mayo, ketchup, siracha and garlic powder.  We've also had them with homemade honey mustard.