Welcome into the kitchen at SoBros HQ – we’re takin’ some of our favorite things to make and sharing it with our most loyal readers (that’s you). Simple recipes, for easy, fulfilling dinners – that’s our aim with the SoBros Recipe Book.
Good chicken tendies in the air fryer? You bet. I’ve been playing around with this recipe through several batches of chicken at this point, and it’s been a hit every time. Our Lead Music Columnist, Steven McCash, even once tweeted that he can’t wait for me to open up my air fryer chicken tender food truck. It’s quickly become one of my favorites, and the most-requested dinners in my household. You can do these plain, or Nashville hot – I’ll teach you how I do ’em both. Let’s get to it!
What you’ll need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
- To dredge: 0.5 cup Whole milk, 0.5 pickle juice, hot sauce
- To bread: 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs, and to your liking: Old Bay, rosemary leaves, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper
- Cooking spray (I use an olive oil spray, but you can use plain ol’ Pam if you want – it’s up to you).
- A good cold beer (ya gotta have somethin’ to help ya kill the time watching the air fryer…)
If you want to make these Nashville hot style, you’ll need the following to make the paste:
- 1 Cup Peanut Oil
- Seasonings: 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1.5 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1 tsp garlic powder, 0.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp Old Bay (my secret ingredient #1), 1 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple (my secret ingredient #2)
How to do it:
This one’s all about the process, y’all. Doing good chicken tenders in the air fryer is tricky because if you slip up, you’re going to have some dry ass chicken. So, it’s all about the “flip and spray” method here. Also, we use the Big Boss air fryer, which I’ve been told differs from most conventional air fryers. So, be sure to check the manual on your air fryer to see how long it takes yours to cook chicken (and be ready to divide that by two – the Big Boss says 16 minutes, FYI).
1. Preheat your air fryer to the degree at which it cooks chicken. Most people don’t realize this, but for the “bigger” air fryer projects like this, ya gotta get that bad boy ready before you add any chicken to it.
2. Get your dredging station together by mixing together the whole milk and the pickle juice. Put in a couple tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce (I use Cholula because of the flavor), regardless of whether or not you’re doing these Nashville hot style. I promise – the heat won’t carry over to the final product too much. My fiancé HATES spicy food, and she loved these tenders.
3. Get your breading station together – Blend the Old Bay, rosemary leaves, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper together. I’m going to leave this one up to you guys to blend to your liking. I use about a half teaspoon each, and maybe I tilt the Old Bay bottle over a little extra. Spread your Panko breadcrumbs out on a plate (it’s easier to coat tendies on a plate than using a bowl like many recipes recommend), and then sprinkle the spice blend over it.
4. Crack open a good cold beer. Cheers.
4. Dunk your first tender in the milk/pickle juice and let it soak for a minute or so. Then, pull it out and drop it into your breadcrumb mix. I like a crunchy, flavorful tender, so I’ll actually pat the breadcrumbs in to make sure they stick. Flip it over and coat the other side. Place the coated tender in the air fryer. Repeat until you have all of your tendies in the air fryer.
5. Spray the tendies with your cooking spray generously (this is what’s going to keep them from being super dry), and cook for half of the time your air fryer specifies to cook chicken at. For example, my Big Boss says to cook chicken for 16 minutes, so I set the timer for 8 minutes.
6. Once that time is up, flip the tenders over, spray ’em down generously again, and cook for the other half (In my case, another 8 minutes).
7. Just a side note here – there’s a bit of wiggle room with the cooking time. It is also going to depend upon how much chicken you’re stuffing in your air fryer. A bigger load may mean flipping the tendies, spraying ’em, and cooking ’em for a few more minutes to insure they’re done. I had to do this when I cooked 10 tenders in the air fryer compared to when I only cooked six.
8. Once they’re cooked, grab your favorite dipping sauce, put ’em on a plate, and serve ’em up. You’re done – enjoy!
But, if you want to make these Nashville hot, you’re going to need to make the paste….
1. Pour your cup of peanut oil into a small pot and place over high heat.
2. Combine the 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1.5 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1 tsp garlic powder, 0.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp Old Bay (my secret ingredient #1), 1 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple (my secret ingredient #2), and mix together. The heat in this dish is going to be all about the cayenne pepper, so if you don’t want it THAT hot, go less than 1.5 tbsp. If you want to push some of the hottest of the hot in Nashville, keep adding it. Also, I love the flavor of dry mustard, so I’ve been known to tip that bottle over a little extra too. That’s the beautiful thing about this dish – you can play around with the spices to form a blend that suits you perfectly.
3. Once your oil is at a boil, stir in your spice blend and remove from heat. Keep stirring until you get more of a paste than a liquid.
4. Place your cooked tenders in a mixing bowl, and then pour your Nashville hot paste over the tenders. Toss ’em around to coat the tenders evenly, and you’re set!
So, what do you serve ’em with?
One of the best, and most inherently fulfilling, Southern meals I’ve ever cooked are these Nashville hot chicken tenders, with a side of waffle fries, a can of pinto beans, and a can of turnip greens. Super easy and super filling.
But, you can’t go wrong with the good old fashion meal of tenders, fries, and a little bit of cole slaw.
Now go enjoy that shit!
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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