Fiery Chicken Tenders with a Blue Cheese Dip

One of my favourite things to eat is . . . Buffalo Chicken Wings . . . scrummy yeh . . . but not so good for you with all of that skin and fat . . . that's probably why they taste so good. Why does everything that's bad for you have to taste soooo good???? It's not fair I tell ya! It's just not fair!




One way to overcome that problem is to use chicken tenders instead of wings. Made from the tender filet which sits just behind the breast of the chicken . . . it's tender, low in fat, skinless and moist, when cooked properly!



There is a tendon in it though . . . which I always remove. I just pick it out with the tip of a sharp knife . . . and then hold onto it with a piece of paper towel and slide the knife carefully along it . . . until it's totally detached. I just think that the tendon can sometimes be a bit tough . . . and I would rather not have it there. But it is a personal preference.



These tasty buffalo tenders get their flavour from a buttermilk soak, using buttermilk lightly flavoured with hot sauce. Of course you can adjust the heat by using less or more than I have suggested.



They then get rolled in a seasoned flour mix and lightly pan fried in a minimum of oil. I have also baked them before with good results . . . simply by placing them onto a baking sheet which I have sprayed with a low fat cooking spray, and then spraying the filets lightly with a bit of cooking spray. A couple of bursts does the trick. Bake at 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6 for about 10 minutes, turning over halfway through that time. The juices should run clear. But really . . . the amount of oil used in frying them isn't very much at all.



The piece de resistance is the delicious blue cheese dip! Maximum flavour . . . with minimum cheese. Blue cheese has such a strong flavour that you don't really need a lot of it to have an impact. The garlic and red wine vinegar also add to the delicious taste of it.



Altogether these are quite scrummy, and very, very satisfying. I like it when I can skim the fat off of a dish and still enjoy it. It's a win/win situation all round!



*Fiery Chicken Tenders with Blue Cheese Dip*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Nicely spiced chicken tenders, served along side a chunky blue cheese dip. Fabulously flavourful and low in fat and calories as well.

For the chicken:
124ml of low fat buttermilk (1/2 cup)
1 tsp hot sauce
50g of plain flour (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of thyme, rubbed in your fingertips
1 pound of chicken tenders
1 TBS sunflower oil

For the Dip:
110g of no fat mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
30g of crumbled blue danish blue cheese (1/4 cup)
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine the buttermilk and the hot sauce in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, paprika, cayenne and black peppers, salt and thyme. Dip the chicken tenders into the buttermilk mixture and then roll them in the flour mixture to coat.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces. Cook for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and set aside. Keep warm.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, cheese, vinegar, garlic, salt and black pepper.

Serve the warm chicken tenders along with the dip. Delicious!