Chicken Fingers

MAKES ROUGHLY 3 DOZEN CHICKEN FINGERS

  • 1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cups (215g) panko
  • 1 cup (100g) grated Parmesan
  • 3 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 pounds (1.4kg) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), cut lengthwise into 1-inch strips
  • Vegetable oil
  • About 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Heat your oven to 450 ° F (230 ° C). Put the flour in a medium bowl and season generously with salt and pepper— stir through with a fork.

2 Put the panko in a second medium bowl, add the Parmesan and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir through until everything is well-combined.

3 Crack the eggs into a third bowl and beat them lightly with the fork. You will need two large baking sheets for cooking the chicken. If you have a third baking sheet, use it to set the coated chicken on top of; otherwise use a couple of large plates. Drop a handful of the chicken strips into the seasoned flour, toss to coat, then shake off any excess. Dip them all at once in the egg mixture, folding them into the egg to thoroughly coat them; and then in the panko, pressing lightly so that the panko adheres. As you finish each handful, set them out on the baking sheet or plates. Doing this a handful at a time is a little messier but much faster; get in there and give it a try!

4 Generously coat the base of two baking sheets with vegetable oil; add two tablespoons butter to each. Place the baking sheets in the oven to heat. When the butter has finished foaming and just starts to brown, gently lay the chicken strips on the baking sheets. Cook for 10 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy. Use tongs to turn them over and cook for another 10 minutes, until both sides are evenly browned and the chicken is cooked through. Add more butter and oil as needed.

5 Let the chicken fingers cool, then store in a covered container in the fridge.

6 The day of: Reheat the chicken fingers uncovered on a baking sheet in a 300 ° F (150 ° C) oven.

 

ChickenYve FontileaComment