# Chicken Fingers



## ella/TO (Jan 28, 2012)

Looking for a tried and true chicken finger recipe...anyone????...thanks in advance


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## jabbur (Jan 28, 2012)

I do chicken nuggets often.  I find them easier than fingers.  I use tenderloins and cut them up.  I use Bisquick, Lawry's salt and a little water or milk.  All I do is dump the Bisquick on top of the chicken, sprinkle the salt on and add a little liquid and mix with my hands to get all the chicken covered.  Then I deep fry for about 2 min and drain.  They are not heavy with breading but very tasty.


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## Addie (Jan 29, 2012)

When my son was a paramedic, during his lunch hour he and his partner would come home to eat. fortunately he was assigned to the city we lived in. 

I used the standard flour, egg, seasoned bread crumb recipe. Since the fingers come from the same cut of chicken cutlets, it just made sense to me. In the flour, egg and breadcrumbs, I would add salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of mixed Italian dry herbs. Fry in about one inch of vegetable oil and turning to brown both sides, drain on a brown paper bag, and serve. Because they often had to hit the road again before even getting to eat, they each got a lunch bag of them to travel with napkins. No onion or garlic. They had to be in close proximity to patients. 

If my butcher didn't have enough fingers on sale, I would buy the cutlets and cut to size. All a cutlet is, is a chicken breast without the bone and skin.


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## buckytom (Jan 29, 2012)

this is a tnt recipe close to my heart as it was all my son would eat when he was sick when he was small.

i use tenderloins, sniping off that bit of tendon that sticks out of the top of many chicken tenderloins.

then it's into a whole beaten egg (dw uses just whites to reduce cholesterol), then one by one they're pressed into either 4c brand or progresso brand seasoned breadcrumbs. we've been experimenting with italian seasoned panko with good results.

after i bread 4 or 5, they go into a frying pan over medium high heat with just a tbsp or so of grapeseed oil. regular olive oil works too, but evoo smokes too much. fry for just a few minutes until golden brown on the first side down.

when you flip them, add another tbsp of oil and swish them around the pan to help coat them, and be careful to reduce the heat the pan to medium if needed once the pan has good residual heat.

place on paper towels to blot some of the oil. 

repeat again in batches of 4 or 5 tenders at a time, or whatever fits your frying pan without overcrowding.



the key is to just cook them through, not overcook them to death. also, use just enough oil per side. they only take 2 or 3 minutes gently fried on each side.

if done gently but quickly, the chicken flavour will stand out  more, with the breading adding texture and a secondary taste.  not just something that's been breaded and deep fried.


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## jennyema (Feb 8, 2012)

I make hundreds of them at a time for my nephew.  For several years it was one of the only things he would eat.  They get frozen in ziplocks.

First I brine the chicken for about 30-45 min.  Drain.

I use flour, egg with a little soy sauce added (for grown ups I also add dijon mustard and a dash of hot sauce) and crushed melba toast that has been generously seasoned with onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper, and a little sweet paprika.  Somehow his parents thought that he liked "Italian seasoning" and though I am not a fan of that stuff, I throw it in, too.

I set the oven at 425 with the rack up high.

I pour about 1/4 cup of peanut oil on a rimmed baking sheet that's covered with foil and evenly spread the oil around.

I coat each tender in flour then egg then crumbs and lay on the baking sheet.  When the sheet is full, I turn them all over so that the top and bottom both have oil on them.

Bake for about 10 min. then flip each and bake for another 5 min.  DONT OVERCOOK.


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## CharlieD (Feb 8, 2012)

isn't store bought chicken fingers are actually ground meat?


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## taxlady (Feb 8, 2012)

CharlieD said:


> isn't store bought chicken fingers are actually ground meat?



Probably. I once bought some breaded chicken something and it was ground meat and disgusting.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 8, 2012)

There are both full muscle and ground chicken fingers. I recommend double breading.


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2012)

CharlieD said:


> isn't store bought chicken fingers are actually ground meat?


 
Not always. If they are breaded, you can almost count on them being ground meat. But if they are the tenders from the breast and not breaded, they are whole pieces of meat from the chicken breast. Or they are chicken breast cut to look like tenders.


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## SharonT (Feb 8, 2012)

buckytom said:


> we've been experimenting with italian seasoned panko with good results.


 Is this a thing - or do you add the Italian seasoning to panko?


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2012)

i've made my own italian seasoning to add to panko before, but recently i found 2 brands of already seasoned panko: progresso and kikkoman. 

i'll have to ask dw which she prefers since i have yet to cook with them.


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## SharonT (Feb 8, 2012)

buckytom said:


> i've made my own italian seasoning to add to panko before, but recently i found 2 brands of already seasoned panko: progresso and kikkoman.
> 
> i'll have to ask dw which she prefers since i have yet to cook with them.


 
I can't think what I ever did without panko.  The first time I ever heard of it - years back - I was working on "perfecting" a crab cakes recipe and no panko was to be found locally.   I ordered some on line.  The price was $20 and I thought that was PRICEY... but I really wanted it.   When the panko arrived, it was in a 20-pound bag.    Needless to say, it was enough to make crab cakes until they were indeed perfect, and Italian meat loaf for 200... and I gave away lots in gallon bags.   Pretty good value, actually. 
Do you share your Italian seasoning?


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## buckytom (Feb 9, 2012)

i just eyeball a combo of dried basil, oregano, thyme, savory, and parsley.


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## SharonT (Feb 9, 2012)

buckytom said:


> i just eyeball a combo of dried basil, oregano, thyme, savory, and parsley.


 
ok - thanks.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 9, 2012)

I don't know why, but it is very hard, almost impossible to get full muscle chicken fingers in grocery stores around here. I can get them from the foodservice distributors for restaurants, but as was said before not in the stores.  Even the companies that specialize in chicken products, like Pinty's which sells to the foodservice industry and the mainstream grocery stores only offers a ground chicken product to the public. Or that is all the major chains carry, for some reason. I should ask a rep someday....


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Feb 9, 2012)

Chickens don't have fingers. They don't have nuggets either. Well, the roosters do, but thats a different story.


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## Addie (Feb 9, 2012)

I cut my own fingers from boneless chicken breasts. Or we can buy them here. The butcher cuts off that side muscle on the breast. Then they sell them at a ridiculous price. I never buy pre seasoned breaded fingers. You can bet that under those bread crumbs, there is ground meat. In fact, come to think of it, I don't think I have ever seen the breaded ones in my butcher shop. Or in the supermarket where I shop. I don't buy fish sticks either. I have no idea what kind of fish is being used under that breaded covering. I want a whole filet.

I make my own bread covering and use the egg and bread with a small amount of breadcrumbs, flour, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning system. It is a simple and fast method of having small pieces on chicken without the bones. Sometimes I make the breadcrumbs with a few slices of white bread run through the food processor and then season them.


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