Breaded Chicken Strips (work in progress)

I made these chicken fingers tonight, but it feels like there's something missing. I'm thinking more garlic powder, or possibly using Worcestershire sauce in the egg bath.

I don't usually measure anything when I'm cooking (unless I'm going off a pre-made recipe), so any measurements I list are approximations.

I used 3 chicken breasts cut long ways into 3rds, leaving nine strips. I had planned to do this with breast tenderloins, but the breasts were at a better price. Tenderloins are ideal, though.

Preparing the Breading Station

Bowl #1 (Flour Dredge): combine 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp paprika. Mix until everything's incorporated evenly

Bowl #2 (Egg Bath): combine 2 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp spicy brown mustard. Beat ingredients with whisk until the liquid is even in consistency. There may be small clumps of mustard.

Bowl #3 (Breading): combine 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tsp pepper, 2 tsp salt. Toss until pepper is visibly distributed through the bowl.

Have available a resting spot for the fully breaded strips. A large plate will do.

I like to organize my station in a diamond pattern, with bowl 1 on the right, bowl 2 at the top, bowl 3 on the left, and the resting spot at the bottom.

Breading the Strips

I like to bread each strip individually. This gives each one the proper attention it deserves. Multiple strips could be breaded at once, but that always gets messy for me.

This process is straight-forward. Move each strip from bowl 1, to bowl 2, to bowl 3, and then rest. The key is ensuring that each strip is fully covered at each stage. When moving from dredge to egg bath, be certain the strip is fully submerged. When breading, be sure the outside is completely dry.

After breading, let the strips rest for about 10 minutes. This will allow some of the flavors to spread from the egg bath to the other layers, especially the soy sauce and garlic powder. Garlic powder always needs a liquid to achieve it's full flavor capacity, as it's simply dehydrated garlic.

Frying the Strips

When I made these tonight, I shallow fried them in a pan. They can definitely be deep fried, though. I fried them on med-high heat in a blend of canola and vegetable oil. For reference, med-high heat is in the 300-350 degree range.

Fry the strips for about 4 minutes on either side. Again, the time is an approximation. Most importantly, use a thermometer and make sure the strips reach an internal temperature of 165.

When the strips are done frying, place them on a rack to drain any excess oil.

Any number of contraptions can be constructed for draining oil, though. I've used a small bowl, upside down, in a colander. Then I put the colander on a plate to catch any excess. For this to work, you have to put the fried food in the 'trench' where the lip of the inverted bowl meets the colander. The excess drains and accumulates on the colander. Ideally, there is little or no oil on the plate. It's only there as a safeguard.

Basically, the goal is to prevent the fried food from sitting in a pool of oil. This leads to soggy fried food. Definitely not good.

Like I said, and as the title indicates, this is a work in progress. If you decide to make this recipe 'as is,' don't expect the world's greatest. It is a good starting point for experimentation, though. Comments, critique and suggestions are welcome.

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