WK's Panko Breaded Buffalo Chicken Fingers ~ Recipe

I'm back home and visiting my parents. And I get to cook. Normally my father won't relinquish the kitchen or the grill, but this week he's out most days. The great part is access to lots of appliances/gadgets, a chest freezer, and a dishwasher.


I made Greek (kebabs, salad) one night, hommade pizza another, then I was told that there was a bunch of chicken breasts that needed to be made up and breaded chicken was requested. I changed it to chicken fingers, and instead of regular bread crumbs, Panko was going to shake things up.


I was surprised to see Panko crumbs in my parents pantry; I mean, Japanese breading materials? That's adventurous. Panko is a crispy, very light breading, so as a chicken finger I figured it would give a nice texture.


I'm not doing a full-on recipe here. Chicken fingers - you know what to do and what to get.

Ok, here's a little instruction.

While the best way to make these is deep fried (I don't know if there is anything that is deep fried that actually tastes better from the oven . . .). My parents have a big electric griddle, so big batches were much easier to cook.

It wasn't long before these stripes were turning golden brown. I didn't put anything down on the griddle first (like butter or cooking spray) and while this was ok for most strips, there were a few that stuck.

Of course you can't make a Buffalo Chicken Finger without Buffalo sauce. The only cayenne based hot sauce on hand was Compliments Essential Louisiana Hot Sauce. This store brand sauce actually has a bit of a kick, but it is mighty tangy/sour - causing a bit of a pucker.

Add sauce to butter and you have liquid gold. Red liquid gold.

The big meal. There was also some leftover Greek salad. And yes that is KD on the plate. I have yet to have a Macaroni and Cheese that I prefer over Kraft Dinner. That's right, you heard me.

We dipped the chicken rather than tossing it (although I drizzled . . . so many serving choices!). The panko was light and crispy, and the Buffalo sauce soaked in without making wings soggy.

Yes KD. And I found that if I drizzled the Buffalo sauce over top, it was even better! Buffalo KD!

What Would I Do Differently Next Time? Hmmmm. I would have cut the chicken strips thinner. Without deep frying, I would have had the griddle a little hotter starting out. The sauce was good (but kept at a medium for my mom). Everyone was happy. But panko isn't my breading of choice. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't experiment with wings.