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Better Than Store-Bought – Buttermilk Fried Chicken Fingers with Ranch Coleslaw

Chicken fingers are one of those things that you probably have a love/hate relationship with. They make a great snack or party appetizer and without a doubt are one those things that most kids love to eat. I remember when Sean was little and went through a phase that no matter where we were – at home, visiting family or out to dinner – he just wanted chicken fingers. The problem is that so many of the chicken fingers you get in the store, from fast food restaurants or even casual family restaurants just do not taste get, at least to adults. There are lots of different chicken finger recipes you can try out there, but this one from Epicurious.com for buttermilk fried chicken fingers was a big hit. They are easy to make, have great flavor and everyone will love them. And what better pairing to make it a good lunch or dinner item than putting it with some ranch coleslaw from Bon Appetit?

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Fingers

For the buttermilk marinade:

3 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 1/2 cups milk

1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices

2 medium jalapeños, sliced (optional)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2×4-inch strips, or 2 pounds chicken tenders

For the seasoned flour:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

2 tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons ground sage

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Canola oil, for frying

Homemade or store-bought ranch dressing, for serving (homemade recipe below)

In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the buttermilk, milk, onion, jalapeño, salt, and hot sauce. Add the chicken pieces, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Set 2 cooling racks over rimmed baking sheets lined with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated garlic, onion powder, thyme, sage, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

In a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven, pour in enough oil to come up to 2 inches. Set the pot over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 to 5 pieces, remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking each piece to remove any vegetables and excess liquid, and dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Fry the chicken pieces, turning once, until they are golden and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes total per batch. Transfer the chicken to the wire racks and warm them in the oven while frying the remaining batches.

Serve the chicken fingers with the ranch dressing, if desired.

Ranch Coleslaw

For the Ranch Dressing:

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons finely chopped dill

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

For the Coleslaw:

3 cups thinly sliced red and green cabbage

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

½ cup Ranch Dressing

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

To make the ranch dressing, stir together the buttermilk, sour cream, mayonnaise, dill, vinegar, and garlic powder in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

To make the coleslaw, toss the cabbage and carrot with the ranch dressing in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate the coleslaw for 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld before serving.

For the chicken fingers recipe, I actually cut the amounts in half for the recipe I was making because it seemed like a lot both for the marinade and the flour and I was only making 1 pound of chicken. It worked out well for me as I did not end up with a lot of leftover flour and the marinade did its job very well. The chicken fingers picked up great flavor from the buttermilk marinade and the seasoned flour and had a nice little zing to them from the hot sauce. For the coleslaw, I actually doubled the recipe for the dressing so I could use some with the chicken fingers and have plenty leftover for the slaw. The taste of the dressing is spot on in terms of the ranch you would expect to get and it really makes the coleslaw stand out. I used the food processor to cut up the cabbage and carrots so they would be really fine, but you could easily slice it yourself or even buy a store-bought coleslaw mix to use instead. I just happened to pick up carrots and cabbage at the farmers’ market this weekend and it was a good use for them. The chicken fingers are better anything you can buy in the frozen section of your supermarket or what you will get at restaurants and you get to control the ingredients going into them so you can make them taste how you or your kids will like them best. The coleslaw is a perfect side dish for sandwiches, burgers, ribs, pulled pork (which I will be making this week) and just about any summertime lunch or dinner. I got a picture of the coleslaw but forgot to get one of the chicken fingers. I will make them again to get another picture and post it here.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on August 9, 2016 in Appetizers, Condiments, Cooking, Dinner, Dressings, Lunch, Picnic Fare, Poultry, Salad, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Snacks

Tags: Bon Appetit ranch coleslaw, buttermilk chicken fingers, buttermilk fried chicken fingers, chicken fingers, chicken fingers recipe, coleslaw, coleslaw recipe, Epicurious.com, ranch coleslaw, ranch dressing, ranch dressing recipe

Hold On to Summer with Tropical Slaw with Sweet and Sour Dressing

03 Sep

Even though everyone is back to work today and the kids are back to school this week around here, the weather has actually been a lot hotter the last few days than it has been all summer long. That makes you want to hold on to summer just a little bit longer and keep making some of those summer favorites that may not heat up the house and kitchen. Around here we have been having cold dinners the last few nights, including a sandwich night yesterday where I made some homemade potato salad and tried out a new coleslaw recipe that I found. This one is a very simple and refreshing recipe from Bobby Flay for a tropical slaw with a sweet and sour dressing so you can stay away from the typical mayo slaws and get something a little different to go with your meal.

Tropical Slaw with Sweet and Sour Dressing

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 ounces fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 large, ripe mango, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 head red cabbage, finely shredded

3 green onions, green and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Combine the apple cider vinegar, canola or vegetable oil, sugar and the kosher salt and black pepper (to taste) in a bowl and whisk the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved.

Combine the pineapple, mango and red cabbage in a large bowl. Season them with salt and pepper to taste; add the dressing to the fruit and cabbage and toss everything to coat it well with the dressing. Add the green onions and the cilantro and toss the ingredients again. Cover the slaw and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour before serving.

This is a very simple and refreshing alternative to traditional coleslaw recipes. You get great flavor from the pineapple and it seems to go very well with the red cabbage, green onions and cilantro. The dressing is light but adds just the right flavor and acidity to the slaw itself. I didn’t have any mango on hand when I made this salad so it is not in the one I did and I think it still turned out fine, though a nice, ripe mango in there would add even more to the dish. I also used pre-packaged shredded red cabbage instead of shredding it myself to save myself a step. This side dish would work really well with just about any type of sandwich meal and I think it would go really well with a pork dish like pulled pork or even just to have with sausages, hamburgers or hot dogs. I’ll definitely make this one again.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on September 3, 2014 in Cooking, Dressings, Fruit, Lunch, Salad, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: Bobby Flay, coleslaw recipe, coleslaw recipes, red cabbage, sweet and sour dressing, tropical cole slaw with sweet and sour dressing, tropical slaw

Pick This Pickleback Slaw as a Side Dish for Summer

19 Jun

There are so many different variations of coleslaw that it seems you can try it in just about any manner with any kind of ingredient. As long as it has some form of cabbage in it, slaw seems to be fair game today. For me, I love to have a slaw that is crispy and wet and soggy and full of mayonnaise. Don’t get me wrong – I like a coleslaw that uses mayo but I don’t want the vegetables swimming in it. It takes away from the flavors of the cabbage and other vegetables and it isn’t very practical as a summer side dish if you use a lot of mayo and can’t leave the dish out for a bit on a table. This particular recipe I picked up from the New York Times and Sam Sifton and it makes use of an item that you probably throw away most of the time – pickle juice.

Pickleback Slaw

1 small head green cabbage

1 small head red cabbage

2 carrots, peeled and grated

2 apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons juice from a pickle jar or pickle relish jar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Cut the green and red cabbages in half and remove the core from each of the sides. Cut each half of cabbage in half again and slice each quarter of cabbage into very thin ribbons. Mix the red and green cabbages with the grated carrots and sliced apples in a large, non-reactive bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, pickle juice,Dijon mustard, cider vinegar,hot sauce, kosher salt and black pepper until well blended.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss the cabbage well to coat it. Season the slaw with salt and pepper to taste. The coleslaw may be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. Toss the coleslaw again before serving.

Alternatively to slicing the heads of cabbage and grating the carrots yourself you could just as easily use a bag of coleslaw mix that already has all of this done for you. Choose some apples that have good flavor to them and you get even a little bit more taste into the slaw. This slaw has just the right bite to it from the pickle juice and the hot sauce and I loved the way it all mixed with the cabbages and apples. It only seemed to get better after a day or two in the fridge as well, making a great side dish for all kinds of burgers, hot dogs, ribs, sandwiches and more. of all of the coleslaw dishes I have made recently, this one seems to be one of the best choices and I have made it a couple of times since I tried the original.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!