Breaded, fried, and glazed Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders are truly finger licking good! The glaze is made with key ingredients like honey, BBQ sauce, and apple cider vinegar. It coats the crispy fried chicken tenders perfectly!
Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
When ready to cook, heat 1 inch of cooking oil in a frying pan or deep Dutch oven to 350°F, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
cooking oil
Set out 3 shallow bowls. Pour the remaining buttermilk into the first bowl. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, remaining salt and pepper, and paprika together in the second bowl. Mix the barbecue sauce, honey, vinegar, and hot sauce together in the third bowl.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 cup barbecue sauce, 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
Place a cooling rack over paper towels. Set aside.
Remove the chicken tenders from the refrigerator. Pour the bag of chicken into a large colander, draining the buttermilk from the chicken.
Dip each chicken tender into the flour mixture, into the buttermilk, and dredge through the flour mixture again. Shake off any excess flour and place onto a large plate. Repeat until all chicken tenders are breaded.
Working in batches of 3-5 tenders, fry the tenders, flipping them halfway so they fry evenly. Remove from the oil when golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Place cooked tenders onto the cooling rack set over paper towels. Repeat until all tenders are fried.
In a large bowl, toss the fried chicken tenders with the honey barbecue sauce. Arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Broil for 2-3 minutes to caramelize. Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
Storage: Store chicken tenders in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. So the tenders stay crispy, reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through.