I want to coat store bought crunchy breaded chicken tenders in mixture of dale's steak seasoning and Cajun Seasoning salt to add flavor.

I want to add some seasoning to some store bought crunchy chicken tenders and I want to use a mixture that I use when I make my Chex Party Mix. It involves Dale's steak seasoning and Cajun Seasoning Salt. I also have some garlic seasoning salt that I also use in the mixture but you can't really taste it as it is overpowered by the Dale's & Cajun Seasoning Salt. I was wondering how much of the Dale's, it's a liquid, and the Cajun Seasoning Salt I should use and should I dip the tenders into the mixture or let them sit for a few minutes. Also, should I microwave the mixture to warm it up or not? I'm going to be baking these chicken tenders along with some fries as well. Thanks.

Lunzatis
  • Posted by: Lunzatis
  • September 21, 2019
  • 2363 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

Gammy September 21, 2019
The amount of sauce ingredients would, of course, depend upon the number of chicken tenders you would be baking, but I agree the Chex Mix amount is probably way too much and would waste ingredients. Sorry, you will probably need to eyeball this (Experiment!). For four tenders you might start with 2 tablespoons of butter (1/4 stick), 1 tablespoon of Dales, 1-2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning and a bit of the garlic salt. Taste the sauce at this point... is it close to what you do for the Chex Mix? If not, add a bit additional butter or the seasonings. If it doesn't look like enough, feel free to scale up. Oven temperature... I think you will probably be fine with the 425 degrees that the fries require. If the tenders only cook for 15 minutes and the fries need 27-30, start with the fries and add the tenders at the appropriate time. Check the tenders after about 10 minutes... they may now not need the full time at the higher temperature. Have fun... you'll be fine. If the tenders don't taste like you think they could, you'll adjust for the next batch. The more you experiment, the more you learn.

 
Lunzatis September 21, 2019
Thank you so much for the reply and advice. It is greatly appreciated. I will definitely try that and let you how things turn out.
 
Gammy September 21, 2019
I would experiment... what if you treated the crunchy chicken tenders as you would the Chex Mix and make up a similar melted butter sauce and add in the Dales and Cajun salt, and maybe add in that garlic salt/powder, too. Then you could baste the chicken strips on both sides (and try dipping just one to see how that works) and bake on a rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet according to the chicken package directions. You may find you need to bake a couple minutes longer, possible turn the strips halfway through baking or broil for a couple minutes at the end to really crisp up. I wouldn't dip the chicken strips into just Dales and the Cajun salt, I think it would overpower the chicken and you also might lose the crispness, but basting with a butter mix would keep that crispness and dilute the spiciness just enough. Let us know how that works for you!
 
Lunzatis September 21, 2019
Thanks for the quick reply and suggestion. I'll have to go to town to get the butter but I'll definitely give that a try.

Also, I usually use 1/2 cup of the dales, and a mixture of a 1/3 cup with 3/4 of it being the seasoning salt while the other 1/4 is the garlic salt and a full stick of butter when I make the Chex Mix sauce but that would be a waste of all of those ingridients so I was wondering if you have any suggestions on the measurements for a basting mix.

Another question, the fries recommend being baked at 425 degrees while the Chicken recommends 400 degrees. With the chicken being basted in the sauce, should I set the oven at 400 or 425? I usually bake the fries for about 27-30 minutes on 425.

Sorry for all the questions but I'm starting to try to experiment with things that I've never really tried before and the suggestions and information helps a lot. Thanks again.
 
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