The perfect game-day fried chicken comes in hot, spicy, crispy, crunchy, stackable, and—most importantly—dunkable!

These Touchdown Tenders are coming in best in conference with juicy chicken marinated overnight in buttermilk, Boudreaux’s seasonings, and Pickled Pepper juice before getting fried up golden and extra crispy.

But that chicken needs a sauce. So we’re taking inspiration from that viral cowboy butter everyone loves and turning those same bold flavors into an ultra-creamy Cowboy Ranch made with Blue Plate Hot & Spicy Mayo, fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and buttermilk.

Pile ’em high, throw on some Boudreaux’s Pickled Peppers, and get to dunking. This is game-day food done right. 

Ingredients

Hot & Spicy Cowboy Ranch

• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup buttermilk
• ⅓ cup Blue Plate Hot & Spicy Mayo

Chicken Tenders

• 2 lbs chicken tenders
• ½ cup buttermilk
• Boudreaux’s Fire & Smoke Creole Seasoning, to taste
• Boudreaux’s Low & Slow Seasoning, to taste
• ¼ cup Boudreaux’s Pickled Pepper juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• Oil, for frying
• Boudreaux’s Pickled Peppers, for serving

Directions

1. Marinate the chicken. Trim away any silver skin and remove the tough tendon from the tenders. Season generously with Fire & Smoke Creole and Low & Slow. Add the buttermilk, Pickled Pepper juice, and Dijon mustard. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Make the Cowboy Ranch. Combine the Blue Plate Hot & Spicy Mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, Dijon, garlic, lemon juice and zest, paprika, onion powder, dill, chives, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Get ready to fry. Heat your oil to 350°F. I shallow-fried mine, but these work just as well in a deep fryer. Combine the flour and cornstarch and season the mixture with Fire & Smoke and Low & Slow.
4. Bread the tenders. Remove each tender from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, then thoroughly coat in the seasoned flour mixture. Press that flour into the chicken to build plenty of those little craggy edges that fry up extra crunchy. Place the breaded tenders on a rack while the oil comes to temperature.
5. Fry until crispy. Fry in batches without overcrowding the pan, turning as needed, until deeply golden and crispy and the chicken reaches 165°F internally.
6. Build the game-day spread. Serve those tenders piping hot with a pile of Boudreaux’s Pickled Peppers and a healthy bowl of Hot & Spicy Cowboy Ranch for dunking.

Crispy enough to hear across the stadium. 🍗🏈🔥