The ones wey go crispy? Okay listen.
First time I try this thing, e no work at all. I use almond flour alone. You know wetin happen? The chicken come out soft like wet bread. My husband look am, he no talk, but I see the face. That one pain me.
So I start to dey find solution. One day I see pork rinds for shop. I say make I try. Omo, the difference like night and day.
Wetin you need? Chicken. Buy breast or tender. But if you buy breast, you must cut am yourself. No buy the one wey dem already cut because sometimes dem inject water for inside. The water go make your coating no stick. I learn this one the hard way. I carry the chicken go fry, the whole thing just slide off enter oil. I stand there dey look. My pot get only chicken wey nekkid. I nearly cry.
So do this. Pat the chicken dry. Use paper towel. Press am well well. When you see the towel dey damp, that means you don do am correct. If you no do this one, abeg stop the recipe now. No waste your time.
https://gatherednutrition.com/crispy-paleo-air-fryer-chicken-tenders/Salt and pepper the chicken. Just small.
Now crush your pork rinds. Put for ziploc bag. Use bottle or pot bottom to crush am. No make am powder o. You want small small flakes. Like the size of rice grain. That one give you the crunch.
Mix your dry stuff for bowl. Almond flour one cup. Tapioca flour quarter cup. Your crushed pork rinds half cup. Then garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning. Each one one teaspoon. Plus salt. Use your hand mix am. No use spoon. Finger dey break the clumps better.
For another bowl, crack two eggs. Whisk with fork. No need whisk wey expensive. Fork dey work.
Now hear me. Wet hand, dry hand. Left hand for egg, right hand for dry. No mix them. I don warn you. If you mix am, your dry bowl go turn to something like mud. Then you go angry.
Take chicken with wet hand. Dip for egg. Shake am small make e no too wet. Then drop for dry bowl. Use dry hand press am. Press like you dey angry with somebody. Flip am, press again. Shake off the extra. Put for plate. Continue until you finish all.
Now cooking.
If you want the real crunch wey your neighbor go hear from their kitchen? You pan fry. Use cast iron if you get. Put avocado oil. About quarter inch. Heat am medium-high. Test the oil with small piece of the coating. If e sizzle immediately, you good.
Put the chicken one by one. No crowd the pan. I fit put maybe four or five at a time. If you put plenty, the oil go cool down. Then your chicken go suck oil like sponge. E no go crispy, e go just be heavy and greasy.
Fry two to three minutes first side. The edge go turn dark brown. Almost black but no worry. That one na flavor. Flip am. Fry another two to three minutes. If you get thermometer, check 165 inside. If no get thermometer, cut one small. The juice should dey clear, no pink.
Take am out put for wire rack. No put for paper towel. Paper towel go make the bottom soggy because steam no fit escape. I learn this one after many years.
If you no want fry, you fit bake. But bake no be the same thing o. E go still soft small. But sometimes you just want make thing easy.
If you choose bake, preheat oven to 425. Line tray with parchment. Put your chicken for tray. Then brush oil ontop of each one. Olive oil or avocado oil. This one important well well. If you no put oil ontop, the thing go bake come out pale and dusty. Like person wey no see sun.
Bake eight minutes. Flip. Bake another five to seven minutes.
Now I go tell you one thing wey happen to me. One time I want make for party. I bake three trays together. One for top rack, one middle, one bottom. The bottom one come out soft because steam from the other trays dey rise and wet am. So no do that. Bake one tray at a time. Yes e go take longer but wetin you want do?
Let me talk about leftovers. Because sometimes you go cook plenty.
After you finish fry or bake, make the chicken cool completely before you pack am. I know you tired. I know you just want wash hand go sleep. But if you pack am when e still hot, the steam go turn the crust to something like pap. E go soft. Next day you go open container, you go cry. I don cry before.
To reheat, use air fryer. 350 degrees for three or four minutes. If no get air fryer, use oven 375 for six minutes. Put for wire rack. No use microwave. Microwave go turn am to rubber. My pikin try am once. He spit am out. Since that day, he no trust me for chicken again.
You fit freeze am too. Cook first. Cool am. Pack for freezer bag. When you want eat, reheat from frozen. No thaw. Add two minutes to the time.
Now sauce. I like chipotle mayo. Buy small can of chipotle pepper for adobo sauce. Take one pepper, small spoon of the sauce. Mash am with fork. Mix with half cup paleo mayo. That’s it. Or if you want sweet, mix mustard and honey. Two part mustard to one part honey. Taste am. Adjust.
If you no eat pork, you fit skip the pork rinds. But then the crunch no go strong. E go still taste good but e no go get that sound wey you hear for your ear when you bite am. My sister no eat pork, so when she come my house, I skip am. Nobody complain. But I know the difference.
For pikin wey picky, cut the chicken small small like nuggets before coating. Same everything, just reduce cooking time by one minute each side. Call am nuggets, not tenders. Pikin brain dey work like that.
Abeg, before you start, dry your chicken well well. I don talk am twice but make I talk am third time. If you no dry am, the coating no go stick. You go come back here dey tell me “biko this recipe no work.” I no want hear that one.
Go make am. When you finish, take picture send me. I want see whether you follow my instruction or you just dey form.
