Chicken Tenders Trial: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free

I’ve not had a lot of luck in breading foods, so I tend to go without. However, when I said to my husband that I wanted to make chicken, and he requested that they be cut into tenders, I knew I wanted to do homemade breading on them. This recipe is actually a bit of a combination from The Sneaky Chef (the dry-wet-dry method that I found works best) and The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook (for the allergy-free ingredients).

The Changes

I substituted buckwheat and my regular multipurpose gluten-free flour for wheat flour in the first dry layer. In the breading, I used the gluten-free flour blend instead of just rice flour, and since I didn’t have onion salt, I used salt and onion powder.

The Method

Cut the chicken into strips. In one shallow dish, combine buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup of GF multipurpose flour. (This is to add the nutrition of the buckwheat while disguising the taste. I blend it, because I’ve found that doing pure buckwheat flour for this layer is too overpowering.) In a second disk, whisk the eggs. In a third disk, combine remaining GF flour, cornmeal, and spices.

breading, eggs, buckwheat. In my setup, I worked right to left.

Dredge each piece of chicken through the buckwheat mixture (or glitter as my daughter called it), shaking off the excess. then dip it in the egg, shaking off excess, and then coat it in the breading. Place on a greased cookie sheet. I went a bit overboard with the breading.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping part way. Serve warm.

Chicken Tenders

Adapted from The Sneaky Chef and The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook

Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken  breasts
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multipurpose Flour*
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cut chicken into strips. In one shallow bowl, mix together buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup gluten-free flour. In another bowl, whisk eggs together. In a third shallow bowl, mix the rest of the gluten-free flour, cornmeal, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Dredge each piece of chicken through the buckwheat flour, then the eggs, and then the breading, shaking off after each step. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, flipping half way.

Makes 3 servings

What I Thought

These had a gentle kick to them, which wasn’t very noticeable. I probably overdid it with the breading, as they seemed a bit dry. I think they may have been better if I had sprayed the tops with oil as well, or pan fried instead of baking them. Joseph downed as many tenders as he could eat. My husband liked them too. My daughter only ate 1 1/2.

*To make your own flour mix, follow these instructions from King Arthur: Whisk together 6 cups (32 ounces) King Arthur stabilized brown rice flour; 2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch; and 1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca flour or tapioca starch. Store airtight at room temperature.

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