Irresistibly crispy kid food that adults will drool over too. Keep extra in the freezer for convenient quick meals.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (or tenders)
- 1 roll Ritz crackers (35 crackers, or about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
- 1 stick (1/2 cup; 4 ounces) butter
- Salt
- Pepper
Optional cracker crumb flavorings
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Garlic salt (or other seasoned salt)
- Herbs (eg parsley, oregano, thyme)
Directions
- Crush crackers into fine crumbs, using food processor or blender, or placing crackers in a Ziploc bag and using rolling pin to flatten. Place cracker crumbs in rimmed plate or baking dish. Season with additional flavorings as desired.
- Rinse and pat dry chicken. Cut chicken against the grain (across the fine lines on the breast) into strips. You can make them thicker or thinner depending on your preference, but cooking is easier if they are reasonably consistent. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a bowl. One at a time, dip chicken strips into melted butter and roll in cracker crumbs. Use your hands to press cracker crumbs into each chicken strip to help the crumbs adhere to the meat. Place coated strips on a baking sheet or large plate, laying them as flat as possible as you go.
- When you have finished coating all the chicken strips, place baking sheet/plate in freezer. Even if you only have 10 minutes, freezing helps secure the coating to the chicken (though if you are cooking right away, it’s best to have chicken strips in a single layer). If you are making for future use, when chicken is fully frozen you may remove the strips one by one and place together in a plastic bag for more efficient storage.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake chicken strips in a single layer on baking sheet for 25-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken, until crust is golden brown and crisp. If you have widely varying sizes, you may want to take out smaller ones as they are ready.
Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.
