3chicken breasts cut at a lengthwise bias into about ½ inch thick pieces; also can use 1.25 chicken tendersor, about 1.25 lbs chicken tenders
¼c.all purpose flouruse a gluten free blend for gluten free tenders
Zest of 1 lemondivided
Juice of half a lemonor about 1 ½ T juice
1 ¾tspsaltdivided
1tspsmoked paprika
1 ½Tbuttermilk(see notes below for homemade)
1eggwhisked
1 ¼c.panko breadcrumbsuse a gluten free blend for gluten free tenders
canola oil spray
½c.mayonnaisecanola, olive oil, or avocado blends are ok
freshly cracked black pepperto season
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the all purpose flour, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and paprika in a shallow and wide bowl. Stir well. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs in another wide and shallow bowl. In a third bowl, mix the panko with half of the lemon zest .
Dredge the chicken: coating it first in the flour, then in the eggs, and finishing by coating it in the panko. Continue with the rest of the chicken pieces until you’ve dredged everything.
Spray chicken tenders with a lighter spritz of canola oil spray. Sprinkle them with remaining ½ tsp salt.
Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes, or until panko is just starting to brown and chicken juice no longer runs pink when cut open.
While chicken is baking, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, half lemon zest and a few good cracks of black pepper in a small bowl to form the aioli.
Serve chicken hot with aioli for dipping.
Notes
How to Make Your Own Buttermilk: combine 4 ¾ teaspoons cow’s milk with ⅛ teaspoon white vinegar and let it sit for 4-5 minutes, or until curdled
These will keep covered in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat on a foil lined baking sheet in a toaster oven or oven at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes, or until heated through.