Magic Chicken, Football, and a Fryer.

February 08, 2021

Magic Chicken, Football, and a Fryer.

For a few years now, I have been making chicken tenders to accompany the Patriots football games. We dredge them in hot sauce, or, honey sriracha sauce. Now, these chicken tenders are the sole reason the Patriots have played so well over the years. So, I feel obligated to make them, even when I just don't feel like it. I have a responsibility, you see.

Now, if you follow the NFL at all, you may have heard that Tom Brady left the Patriots last season and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, bringing Gronk along with him. It was a blow to us fans, but we love the GOAT and continued watching him play with his new team. What a major event if the Pats met up with the Buccs at the Super Bowl. But, 'twas not to be. Even though I continued to make the chicken for the Pats, the mojo wasn't working. It did however transfer over to the Buccs! So, what was normally thought to be Patriots chicken, obviously was always Tom Brady chicken.

And therefore, today, for the Super Bowl, I will make the chicken one last time this season.

It's the Chicken Baby!

Now, for forever, I have deep fried the chicken strips in my Dazey Deep Fryer/Crock Pot. This awesome, glass-covered gem was a wedding shower gift back in 1996. I used it to death...literally.

This year, a couple years after the crock cracked, the insides of the deep fryer is starting to flake. So, we researched a counter-top deep fryer and bought one. The T-fal Deep Fryer with oil filtration. If you go to the T-fal website, it doesn't get great reviews, but on Amazon, over 10,000 people give it high marks. So far, I love it. It drains and cleans the oil to store for another fry. Perfect. SO much easier than pouring it from the crock into a sieve and plastic bowl.

Now, I can't guarantee that this recipe will help your football team win. It's pretty team (or maybe player?) specific. But, you can enjoy them anyway.

First, the mise-en-place.

Chicken breast cut into strips
Seasoned panko breadcrumbs - I season with salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder
egg beaten
oil

Sauce:

bottled hot sauce

honey-sriracha sauce:

5 tbls butter

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup sriracha

1 tbls soy sauce

2 tsps lime juice

Melt the butter, add the other ingredients and stir til combined on low heat. Keep eye on sauce....it can boil and reduce too much. And if you leave off the heat too long, the butter separates. Heat again if that happens. If you like it a little sweeter, add more honey. Spicier? Add more sriracha.

You can premake the sauce, and the seasoned panko, as well as pre-cut the strips and freeze. Makes it easier on game day and you don't have to spend so much time in the kitchen. Also, make up a larger batch of the sauce and freeze that for next time.

Dip your chicken into the egg, then coat with panko. Place aside on a rack until oil heats up. In the Dazey deep fryer, I cooked each strip 6-7 minutes, depending on the thickness. Slightly less time in the new one.

This T-fal deep fryer stores the used, filtered oil for you; ready to pour in when needed next. When done, every component (other than the heating mechanism) can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

Take out and place on rack to drip. Then toss in either sauce. Serve with carrots and celery sticks, as well as blue cheese dressing. Some people like ranch. If you are one of those people, serve with ranch.