The chicken tenderloin will never go out of style. A frequently used emoji-combo in the ForensicBBQ household is ??. I don’t know if MrsForensicBBQ thought she’d marry a man who required some sort of frozen chicken product in the freezer, but here we are. While the ease of a frozen product is a good “I’m tired, quick weekday meal” solution – sometimes (most times) you have to jazz them up a little bit. Today, we’re doing just that.
A work colleague just so happens to make his own honey. And a habanero, spicy honey at that. Seems like hot honey has been a thing lately – much like Chicken and Waffles was popular.. and then Nashville Hot. So since hot honey is the new thing, let’s do this.
The Prep Table
I first tried this home habanero honey on a warm biscuit, and it wasn’t an overpowering heat, but it was pleasant. Was awesome on that biscuit for sure. This time, we’re kicking it up a notch and doing a sort-of honey-infused sriracha. And we’re not only doing just sauce, we’re doing it to start also. We’re soaking hot honey and finishing hot honey.
If you recall my RecTeq Nashville Hot Chicken post, that corn flake coating kinda pops for me. So we’re going with the same idea. I threw equal parts sriracha/honey into a bowl and dipped the raw tender in it. Let it soak what it could, threw it the bag of crushed up corn flakes and onto the baking rack. Scary part, they looked damn good already and could totally pass for a cooked tender. I was low on the corn flakes, so I used what I had and used panko crumbs for the rest.
Thanks again to my buddy for gifting me this honey. My dumbass asked him what the capital I was for on the lid.. he nonchalantly turned it sideways and told me it was an H. For Habanero. I’m an Idiot. with an I.
The Process
Since today’s show is about the honey sriracha, we’re doing it again. We’re going to make a sauce with the honey, sriracha and add just a bit of soy sauce and rice vinegar. Chicken went into the RecTeq at 450 degrees for only about 15-20 minutes. Get that Thermapen out and make sure they’re cooked through (IT > 165).. we ain’t in the business of getting sick. In true classy form, after these birds were cooked through – I got my paper tray out and transported them inside. Bowl of sauce, cooked tenders – lets dress them up a little bit.
The Result
Okay, even though my local hot honey supply had expired with this cook – this recipe is staying.. cause it was delicious. That’s why I keep this blog going (at quite the cost as renewal looms) – to keep my recipes housed for later use. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to recreate a lot of these recipes. Most, because lets be honest – you probably won’t be see the awful experiments.
Anyway, hot honey sriracha chicken tenders – give them a try!
The Recipe
Honey Sriracha Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 Pack Chicken Tenderloins Costco
- 1 Cup Corn Flakes ish
- 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs ish
The Soak
- 1/2 Cup Hot Honey
- 1/2 Cup Sriracha
The Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Hot Honey
- 1/4 Cup Sriracha
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tsp Rice Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the RecTeq to 450.
- Combine the soak in a bowl and crush up your corn flake coating. I had to supplement with some panko crumbs due to lack of corn flakes, but make it work!
- Soak your tenderloins in that spicy honey, then coat them in in the corn flakes/panko. Lay it 'em out evenly on a baking sheet.
- Throw the bird in the RecTeq for about 15-20 minutes, until IT > 165
- While cooking, combine Sauce ingredients.
- When chicken is done, throw a drizzle on the birds and eat 'em up! (Or use it as a dipping sauce – or both!)
Bringin’ those paper serving trays to SmokeFEST?
Recipe sounds great. Can’t wait to try it.
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