Pretzel-Fried Chicken

Have you ever craved something you've never had? Somehow, I got it in my head that I was craving chicken strips rolled in crushed pretzels and then fried. Suddenly, I just had to make it.

Yes, the worst of the worst - boneless skinless chicken breasts

Cut into strips, put into zip-lock, and add buttermilk, olive oil, S&P

Seal the bag, slosh it all around, and refrigerate overnight

Peel some sweet 'taters, then cut into sticks

Toss fries in peanut oil, S&P

Coating dish

Pound the pretzels

Leave some larger pieces and pour into dish

Add an egg to the soaked chicken

Heat up frying oil

Fry in 325-350°F oil until golden

Remove to paper-towel-lined plate

Drizzle sauce over chicken

Chicken

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are not the ideal choice for much of anything, but for fried chicken strips, I need no bones or skin, and the work is already done. Had I come across a package of just tenderloins, I would have gotten that. I paid the premium for some butcher somewhere to do what I'm too lazy to do, and sometimes, that's fine.

Start by cutting the breasts into strips. Put the strips into a zipper bag and pour over buttermilk, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and some salt & pepper. Close the bag tightly and massage the chicken and liquid such that it's well mixed and all the strips are covered. Let the chicken soak in the refrigerator at least overnight.

When you're ready to cook, crush up several handfuls of hard pretzels (I used a strong freezer bag and small pot, though in hindsight I think a rolling pin would have been better). Let the pretzel crumbs be inconsistent - you want some floury stuff and some chunks for texture. Pour the crumbs into a shallow dish for dredging.

Heat up about an inch of oil (I prefer peanut) to 325-350°F. In order to get the pretzels to stick better to the chicken strips, crack an egg into the bag of chicken, and mix well. Pull a chicken strip or three out of the buttermilk mixture and let it drip for a second before dredging it in the pretzel crumbs. Then, carefully lay the strips in the hot oil and let them brown for a minute or so before flipping with a pair of tongs. Only fry 3 or 4 strips at a time to keep the oil hot, and let it heat back up to temperature before frying the next batch. Don't dredge the strips until you're just about to fry them, or the pretzels will soak up the liquid and fall off the chicken. When the strips are deep brown all over and firm when pushed on with the tongs, remove them to some paper towels.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into batons. Toss the batons in vegetable oil (I like peanut) and salt & pepper, then arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. The easiest way to do that is to toss the batons in oil and seasoning on the baking sheet itself. Bake at 450°F for 20-30 minutes to desired crispness. I happen to like them with burnt ends.

Honey Mustard Sauce

Since I'm a big dork and forgot to make the sauce before starting to fry the chicken, I directed my husband to do it and don't have any photos. Here's what I told him to do: get a small bowl, squeeze a couple of tablespoons of raw honey into it, add about a teaspoon of whole-grain mustard and as much yellow mustard as he wanted, then mix in about 1/3 cup of mayo. It was delicious!


Bonus: Leftovers!

Keep the leftover fried chicken strips in a dry container in the refrigerator (line the container with a paper towel if the strips are still warm or moist to the touch). 

I have a guilty (and rather pedestrian) pleasure: fried chicken salad. Use whatever you've got in the fridge and whatever you happen to like in salads. As for dressing, that's up to you as well. I like ranch-type dressing on my fried chicken salad, so I made a buttermilk dressing from scratch, as I find most bottled ranch dressings repulsive.

Cut up into bite-sized pieces

Make buttermilk dressing

Add a little sauce for fun

Salad
Cut the cold fried chicken strips into bite-sized pieces and lay them over a bed of greens. I shredded some carrot and Tillamook medium cheddar (my go-to all-purpose cheese in "baby loaf" form from Costco), and added some chopped chive and cilantro.

Dressing
Mix a few tablespoons of buttermilk with some chopped fresh herbs (I used chives and cilantro again) and salt & pepper. Pour over salad and drizzle some leftover honey mustard. YUM!