Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Tenders With Southwestern Dipping Sauce

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Tenders With Southwestern Dipping Sauce

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Tenders With Southwestern Dipping Sauce found their way on my dinner table the other night.  They were yummy.  The chicken was moist, tender and had a crispy crust.  The Southwestern Ranch Dipping Sauce added a wonderful flavor to the chicken and was the perfect condiment.  This recipe is great for using up broken taco shells. If you like you can use corn tortillas.  I like the extra crispiness the taco shells gave the chicken. The chicken tenders are first coated in and egg and milk mixture.  They are then coated in mixture of ground tortilla chips, (or corn tortillas) flour, cumin and salt.
Note: The recipe instructs you to coat  the chicken tenders all at once in the egg mixture and the crumb mixture.  I did the pieces individually.   I felt they were coated better.    They are then fried  until they have a crispy golden brown exterior.  They are served with a tasty dipping sauce.  To make this sauce, you combine mayonnaise,  buttermilk,  fresh cilantro,  red taco sauce, (I used mild)  lime juice, salt, oregano (I used Mexican Oregano), garlic powder, and cumin powder. If you want you can make the sauce one day ahead.



Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Tenders With Southwestern Dipping Sauce
From Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

1/4 cup mayonnaise (for the sauce)
1/4 cup buttermilk (for the sauce)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (for the sauce)
2 teaspoons red taco sauce (for the sauce)
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice (for the sauce)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (for the sauce)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (for the sauce)
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano (for the sauce)
1/8 teaspoon cumin powder (for the sauce)
4 taco shells or 4 taco-size corn tortillas
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate the sauce until serving time (the sauce may be prepared up to 1 day ahead).
2. To prepare the chicken, tear the tortillas into pieces (or break up the taco shells) and add them to a food processor.  Process until the tortillas turn into fine crumbs.
3. Transfer the tortilla crumbs to a bowl and mix them with the flour, cumin and salt.  In a second bowl, whisk together the egg whites and milk.
4. Dip the chicken tenders into the egg white mixture, then into the crumb mixture to coat. (Tip: Place the crumb mixture into a large zippered baggie.  Coat the chicken strips all at once in the egg mixture, then drop the strips into the baggie, shaking off any excess egg as you go.  Give the bag a few shakes and all of the chicken strips will be coated and ready for frying.)
5. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken strip to the skillet and cook until the chicken has a crispy golden exterior and is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  Serve immediately with the sauce.

Makes 4 servings

Dipping Sauce

Crumbs in Zip Lock Bag

Ready for Frying

Frying

Yummy and Soo Easy

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