All About America’s Favorite Finger Food: Chicken Fingers
Ah yes, chicken fingers. Those scrumptious strips of tender, juicy fried chicken we hold so dear have been a long-time favorite finger food of Americans. This is everything you could want to know about these tasty snacks.
A Brief History
In the middle ages, the most popular ways to cook chicken in Europe were baking or boiling. In Scotland, however, they fried their chicken. Americans adopted this tradition when the Scots immigrated to America. An alternative theory is that the idea of fried chicken came through the African slave trade.
The Puritan Backroom, situated in Manchester, New Hampshire, claims to be the inventor of chicken fingers. Mike Saib of ergochef.com confirmed their claim, stating that theirs was the first national mention of the term “chicken tenders,” although a few others created similar dishes.
How Are They Made?
Most of us are probably happier to find our chicken fingers at our favorite restaurants rather than making our own. After all, they’re unlikely ever to share with us their secret recipes! For the adventurous out there, we thought we’d share the basic idea.
Basic Chicken Finger Recipe:
- Use boneless, skinless breasts or thighs.
- Cut the chicken into strips. Cut across the grain, not along it.
- Marinate the chicken strips in corn starch for tender and juicy fried fingers.
- Dip them in egg, and then a breadcrumb and flour mixture to create a batter. You may want to dip them twice.
- Fry in oil.
- Devour!
We hope the chicken lovers have learned something new about this yummy snack and will try it at home next time the craving strikes!