Cowboy Butter Chicken Tenders
Ultra-crispy, cornflake battered cowboy butter chicken tenders are made easily in the air fryer then tossed in a lemony, garlicky cowboy butter sauce.
Servings: 12 tenders
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning Cajun, kick'n chicken seasoning, etc
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
- 3 cups corn flakes crushed to coarse crumbs
- olive oil or avocado oil spray aerosol spray is ideal
Cowboy Butter
- 1 stick butter, mostly melted*
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 lemon zested and 1 tablespoon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon chives or green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add cornflakes into a gallon ziplock bag, seal, and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush them into coarse crumbs.
- Grab three shallow dishes (like a pie dish) and add your flour and seasonings into one, the egg wash in another, being sure to whisk the eggs with the milk until smooth. In the third dish, add the crushed cornflakes.
- Using one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet, coat the chicken tenders in the flour mixture. Transfer into the egg wash, ensuring it's fully coated. Then transfer into the cornflake crumbs, pressing them into the tenders.
- Place the chicken tenders, a few at a time, into the air fryer basket. Spray with an even coat of olive oil spray over the surface of the chicken. Cook on high at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip the tenders, repeat with olive oil spray and cook another 5 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked through.
- While the tenders are cooking, mix together all of the cowboy butter ingredients. Taste and adjust if needed. Transfer chicken tenders into a large bowl. Pour in the butter sauce in and toss until they are well coated. Serve tenders with ranch or blue cheese for dipping.
Notes
*Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan until it's mostly melted but a few chunks of butter remain. Make sure it doesn't get too hot otherwise the fat solids will separate.
Freeze and Reheat:
If you plan to freeze and eat later, at this point you can place them in an even layer into the freezer for 2 hours. Once they are set, throw them in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze up to two months.