Name: Breaded Chicken Fingers
Yield: Makes 25 to 30 pieces
Ingredients: 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any white or yellow fat, patted dry, and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick; 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 3 cups panko bread crumbs; 2 large eggs; 1 tablespoon plus 1 cup vegetable oil; Salt and ground black pepper; 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Why This Recipe Works

For the best from-scratch chicken fingers recipe, we chose small breasts, 6 ounces or less, cutting them on the diagonal into ¾-inch strips to yield the most consistently sized pieces. To get the coating to adhere to the chicken, we found it necessary to use a bound breading, or a three-step process in which the chicken is dipped in flour, dragged through whisked eggs, and finally coated in bread crumbs. We found that Japanese panko crumbs were the best choice for our chicken fingers recipe, generating a crust with a mild, wheaty flavor and shatteringly crisp texture that tasters loved.

Before You Begin

Look for panko near other bread crumbs or Japanese ingredients at your supermarket. The fingers can be held in a 200-degree oven for up to 20 minutes before serving.

Instructions

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Thoroughly dry the breasts with paper towels. Spread the flour and panko in two separate shallow dishes. Lightly beat the eggs, 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a third shallow dish. Working with several pieces of chicken at a time, drop the chicken into the flour and shake the pan to coat them. Shake the excess flour from each piece; then, using tongs, dip the chicken into the egg mixture, turning to coat well and allowing the excess to drip off. Drop the chicken into the panko and press the crumbs lightly onto the chicken. Shake off excess crumbs and place the breaded chicken on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Heat the remaining 1 cup oil in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees—the oil will shimmer but should not smoke—3 to 4 minutes. Place half of the chicken gently in the skillet and cook until golden brown and crisp on the first side, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken; continue to cook until the second side is deep golden brown and crisp and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a clean rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels and place it in the warm oven. Return the skillet to medium heat and repeat with the remaining chicken. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges or one of the dipping sauces.