Tingly Tenders

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup TorchBearer Sauces Tingly Sauce™ (or substitute any other of the TorchBearer Hot Sauces. I especially recommend Sultry Sauce™, and Tarnation Sauce)
• 2 cups dry pancake mix
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (or substitute flat leaf Italian parsley)
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into 1” bite size pieces and pat dry with a paper towel
• Sea salt

For accompaniments:

1 cup high quality refrigerated blue cheese dressing (such as Marie’s) Celery sticks

Directions:

Place the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Place the #4 Tingly Sauce™ (or whichever you decide to use) into a wide, shallow bowl. In another wide, shallow bowl combine the pancake mix and the cilantro. In batches, place the chicken into the hot sauce and toss with a fork, coating evenly. Remove the sauce-coated bites and dredge in the pancake mix. Shake off excess and repeat. Add some of the dredged chicken pieces to the prepared skillet and cook about 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown on each side. Remove from skillet to a paper towel-lined platter and season to taste with salt. Place the finished chicken bites in a warm oven while you finish pan-frying the remaining chicken pieces.

To serve:

Arrange the bites on a serving platter with cocktail picks or in a serving bowl. Serve chunky blue cheese dressing and celery sticks on the side.

Chef’s note:

For a more casual beer-battered version, mix 2 cups of the pancake mix with 1 1/4 cups full bodied-beer. After dredging the chicken pieces in the sauce and dry pancake mix, place in the batter and coat evenly. Heat 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Carefully place the batter coated chicken into the hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes per side until deep golden brown. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Serve on a platter as above. This recipe was developed by Donna Zotter, from There’s a Chef in my Kitchen, for our use.