Cholula Chili Garlic Chicken Strips

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Why go to those fast-food joints for chicken tenders? Make it better at home and with real breast-meat chicken. No anonymous meat in here!

I was intrigued by this brand of hot sauce ever since a fellow blogger used it for a wing recipe.

Have to say, I am definitely NOT a fan of hot HOT food or sauces. I like a nice hot sauce, but it has to have good flavor, not just tons of heat.

I found the original variety in both my stores, but I really wanted their “flavors.” Especially this chili garlic and chipolte. Those varieties are not to be found here so I had to go to my pals at Amazon–these guys always come through for me LOL. I could get a variety pack at the same price per bottle that they want in the grocery store.

I got the idea for this off of Cholula’s website in their recipes. Naturally I always have to change stuff, and I thought the introduction of some panko crumbs would improve this. Funny thing is, I had no club soda or seltzer and all I could get in my local convenience store was an assortment of regular sodas (pops). I just guessed that ginger ale or lemon-lime would be a good substitute. Beer would be too, but the rest of that would go to waste where the other options wouldn’t, so I chose the lemon-lime variety. But the original club soda/seltzer or beer, etc., would make a nice and tasty change.

My chicken breasts were about 8 oz each. They were bigger ones, but you’d need about 1 pound to serve 2 for a dinner, and more if you are doing this as an appetizer for a party.

Use any flavor hot sauce you wish. I just liked the flavor of the chili garlic with this.

A nice dipping sauce would go well here. Offhand I’d use some mayo with some of the chili garlic hot sauce, a shake or 2 of dehydrated onion and some dry ranch dressing mix.

Cholula Chicken Strips

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup lemon-lime soda (like Sprite)
3 tbs Cholula Chili Garlic Hot Sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 sleeve saltine crackers
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup oil for deep frying

Process saltine crackers to make crumbs. Mix with the panko crumbs and place on a large plate. Set aside.

Pound chicken breasts between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap with a meat mallet (smooth side) until of a uniform 1/2-inch thickness. Cut breasts into 1/2 x 3-inch strips (this is approximate).

In a large, deep skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees F. You may use an electric deep fryer as well.

Mix the flour, lemon-lime soda, the Cholula sauce, the salt and the pepper in a small bowl. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Add the chicken strips (in batches, not all at once) to the batter. Drain each strip of excess batter. Coat with crumbs and place on a plate. Repeat until all strips are coated. NOTE: It’s a good idea to chill the breaded strips for about an hour. This does help the crumbs adhere to the meat and will help “seal” out any excess oil.

Deep fry in batches (don’t overload the pan or the fryer…that will prevent them from becoming crisp and also make them greasy because it brings down the temp of the oil) turning strips to brown both sides–approximately 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Serves 2 for a dinner. Serves about 4 as an appetizer.

Cholula Chili Garlic Chicken Strips

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