The redneck in me…

loves Cheez-Its! I love them in all their cheesy, salty, sodium-laden gloriousness. They give me heartburn like a MoFo, but I still love them just the same. I can forgive.

But are Cheez-Its not the staple of trailer park food? I think so. But again, I don’t hate. I lived in the South for 6 years, so there is a little redneck inside of me as well. It’s all good. And that’s why I can’t wait to make these:

DEEP-FRIED CHICKEN FINGERS WITH CRISPY CHEEZ-IT CRUST

Ingredients:
2 1/4 lbs. chicken tenders
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
6-7 cups Cheez-It crackers, or other cheddar cheese cracker
4 eggs
canola oil

Directions:

1. Rinse your chicken and pat it dry. Put it in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Pour in the buttermilk. Seal the bag well and smoosh it around with your hands to coat the chicken. Refrigerate like this for at least a few hours or overnight.
2. Measure out the flour in a shallow bowl or pan. Add the garlic powder and kosher salt to it. (If you want to add any other spices to the crust, this is the place to do it.) Mix together with a fork or whisk to combine well. Set the flour aside.
3. Next, crack your eggs into a shallow bowl. With a fork or whisk, beat them until light and fluffy. Set the beaten egg aside.
4. Put the crackers in a zip-top bag and smash them to bits with a rolling pin. Break them into small bits and pour them out into a shallow dish.
5. Take a piece of buttermilk-coated chicken out of the bag. Don’t wipe the buttermilk off. Drop it right into the seasoned flour. Turn it over in the flour until it’s completely coated. Pick the chicken up, and shake it gently over the flour bowl to knock off any excess. Now drop the floured chicken into the beaten egg. Turn it over a few times to coat completely in the beaten egg.
6. Next, drop the chicken into the cracker crumbs. Turn it over a few times to coat completely. When all the chicken is breaded, set it on a parchment (or foil) lined pan so the coating has a chance to set up a little. In the meantime, heat up the oil.
7. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Your chicken might cook completely in the oil. But if your chicken fingers are really large, chances are you’ll need to finish them in the oven for a few minutes.
8. Line another sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot. How much oil you need will depend on the size of your pot. When the oil is hot enough, carefully drop a few pieces of chicken into the oil. Fry in batches like this, so you don’t crowd the pan (and cause the temperature of the oil to drop dramatically, resulting in massive grease absorbtion).
9. When the crust is nice and brown, remove the chicken from the oil and transfer to your prepared pan. Cut one open to test doneness and if necessary, place the pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

Moral of the story:
I need a deep fryer. Kinda like this one.

Recipe and photo via The Hungry Mouse