Now you'll know how to make much better chicken strips than you can buy in the freezer section. They’re easy and yummy—who can argue with that?

Start by rinsing and drying your chicken strips. Next, in a bowl submerge the chicken strips in buttermilk for 15 to 20 minutes (or longer if you’d like). In another bowl combine about 1 ½ cups flour and 2 to 3 teaspoons of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or other seasonings if you prefer). Mix this together well. Next, add about ¼ to ½ cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork as you add it. Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat. Remove a few of the buttermilk-soaked strips and place them in the flour mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly. Place them on a plate. Continue coating chicken strips until they are all ready to cook. When the oil is sufficiently heated, begin cooking the strips a few at a time. Cook them for about a minute and a half or so on each side. When golden and crispy, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Yum!

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Question: What happens when Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man’s four kids leave the house for the weekend to stay at their grandfather’s house and Pioneer Woman passes Marlboro Man a note in church asking, “I’ll cook you anything you want for lunch…what’ll it be?” and she’s expecting he’ll say something fun like Chicken and Noodles or Rib Eye Steak with Whiskey Sauce or My Favorite Hamburger Ever or some kind of Italian treat like pizza or lasagna?

Answer: He passes her a note that reads, “Chicken strips.”

And then Pioneer Woman crumbles, right there in the sixth pew.

That’s precisely what happened in my life yesterday—welcome to my nightmare, the water’s just fine. But I asked, he answered, and I surged forward in spite of my desire to crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head.

This is not my typical PW Cooks recipe in that there’s not a Cast of Characters shot, and no final money shot of the chicken strips on the plate. Marlboro Man was too hungry. But it will show you how to make homemade chicken strips that are evidently so irresistible, Marlboro Man chose them above everything else in my arsenal to eat for lunch yesterday.

I can’t say I get it, but maybe the answer will be revealed to me sometime.





I stopped at the store and grabbed a couple of packages of chicken strips, which are boneless, skinless chicken breasts (often just the tender portion) that the butcher has cut into strips. Sometimes the package reads “Chicken for Fajitas” or “Chicken Tenders.” Basically, you’re looking for raw chicken that’s been cut into strips.

Then I rinsed the chicken (Sorry—lifelong habit, and I’m not buying into the newest studies that chicken shouldn’t be rinsed. You can’t make me.) and submerged it in buttermilk for about 15 to 20 minutes. You can soak it longer if you’d like.





Next, I threw about a cup and a half of flour in a separate bowl…





And dumped in some Lawry’s—probably about 2 to 3 teaspoons. You can do lots of different spices here: cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, lots of black pepper. But I was in a hurry, and Lawry’s is hard to beat.





After I stirred the flour mixture together, I drizzled in 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk, stirring lightly with a fork as I drizzled.





You’ll see why I’m doing this in a minute.













Have you figured it out yet?

No? Okay, then. Let’s keep going.





Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat. You want it hot enough to sizzle and turn the chicken strips a nice golden brown, but not so hot that they’ll burn easily.





Then remove a few of the buttermilk-soaked strips from their bowl and place into the flour mixture.





Turn them over to thoroughly coat…





Then place them on a plate. See how lovely they are! The flour, with the tiny drizzle of buttermilk (you can also use regular milk or beaten egg), formed little balls and clusters, which adhered to the buttermilk-soaked chicken. This’ll result in nice and textural—and crunchy—chicken strips. Yum!

Continue coating chicken until all is ready to cook. (Hint: You can flash freeze the coated chicken nuggets, then store them in large Ziploc bags for later if you prefer.)





When the oil is sufficiently heated (flour should bubble when sprinkled in), begin cooking the strips a few at a time.





Cook for about a minute or a minute and a half on the first side—until you can tell it’s getting crispy and golden.





Then turn them over and finish cooking the other side—another minute and a half or so. They don’t take very long to cook!





When they’re done, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to drain while you cook the others.

*This is where you pretend to see a photo of the finished chicken strips, served with honey mustard dipping sauce. Barbecue sauce is also yummy.*

It’s hard to get shots of finished dishes when Marlboro Man’s starving. But now you know how to make much better chicken strips than you can buy in the freezer section. They’re easy and yummy—who can argue with that?

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

–Pioneer Woman