Sticky, sweet Honey BBQ Chicken Strips are perfect for dinner or game day! Marinated in buttermilk and perfectly seasoned, these strips are hard to resist!
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I don’t know about you, but my kids will eat anything that even closely resembles a nugget. I just tell them that these Honey BBQ Chicken Strips are GIANT nuggets and I’m in. Just like that. Chicken strips are good any night of the week – and especially on game day – but when you add a sticky sweet honey-bbq glaze on top, well, resistance is futile my friends.
I started with chicken tenders but if you have boneless, skinless chicken breasts on hand, just cut them into strips. The first step is really the most important and that’s when we marinate the strips in buttermilk. It’s essential. The chicken gets so tender that it’s impossible to resist.
The chicken strips are double-dipped (flour, buttermilk, flour) for an extra thick and crispy coating. This is totally necessary because the honey-bbq glaze is wet and the coating needs to be able to withstand all that ooey-gooey goodness. Note: if you want to spice these up a bit, add some hot sauce or sriracha to the honey-bbq glaze.
After frying, and this part is quick because we are not cooking the chicken though all the way, I let my chicken strips drain on a rack. You can also use paper towels. Finally it’s time to brush on the honey barbecue glaze and pop them into the oven.
You get something awesome like this when they come out. Sticky, sweet perfection!
The chicken is so tender and juicy – you’ll want to eat the whole batch yourself!
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- 2 lbs chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
- 4 cups buttermilk, divided
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
- Season chicken strips with salt and pepper and marinate in 2 cups buttermilk for at least 2 hours.
- Bring oil to 350-360F in a large frying pan, about 1 inch deep.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika in a shallow bowl and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups of buttermilk and hot sauce, set aside.
- Combine barbecue sauce, honey, and apple cider vinegar in a shallow bowl, set aside.
- Remove the chicken strips from the buttermilk and shake off the excess.
- Dip the chicken strip in flour mixture, then in the buttermilk and hot sauce mixture, and then back in the flour mixture Shake off excess flour.
- Gently place in the hot oil and fry, turning over when golden brown. Drain on paper towels or on a rack.
- Repeat until all chicken has been fried. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked through because we'll be finishing it off in the oven.
- Gently dip the strips in the barbecue sauce and honey mixture or use brush the mixture onto the strips. Shake off excess.
- Place chicken strips on a parchment line baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Baking time will depend on the size of your chicken strips.
- Note: if you want to spice these up a bit, add some hot sauce or sriracha to the honey-bbq glaze.
More of our favorite party foods:
Slow Cooker Cocktail Meatballs
Philly Cheesesteak Potato Skins
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John currie says
January 18, 2018 at 4:46 PMGreat recipe. I’ve been making these ( similar recipe) for years. After many attempts on trying to keep them crispy, I discovered that adding about 2 or 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to your flour mixture will initially make the chicken crispier. Also bumping up the oven to about 400 and baking appx. 10 minutes should keep them crispy. Just a FYI.
Salim says
January 14, 2018 at 6:45 PMMy chicken tenderloins are currently marinating in buttermilk. Better late than never
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Kara says
January 31, 2017 at 7:50 AMWow! This chicken is delicious! My family LOVED it! I’m so glad that I found your blog…I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 🙂 Amazingly enough, I had a couple of tenders leftover. I was wondering what you think is the best way to reheat them? Thanks!
Jami says
June 2, 2016 at 2:56 PMI’m sad because these looked amazing and I was so excited to try them out, but for some reason they didn’t work for me. My oil for frying was plenty hot but the strips didn’t get get golden brown so they were just soaking in oil making the bread if soggy. They didn’t crisp up while baking either so the breadth just fell off anytime I touched them. Bummer.
Kathy says
December 23, 2015 at 10:22 AMThese look so good! Can’t wait to try….do you think if having company you could do part ahead of time.. Do the frying part the night before and just throw them in the oven to bake when you need them?
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
August 25, 2015 at 8:11 AMThat honey bbq glaze sounds amazing! These chicken strips look perfect!