Gluten Free Fried Chicken Tenders

Here is a recipe that my kids devour and ask if I could cook it every night.  It is gluten free and totally delicious.  Since I don't take my kids to Kentucky Fried Chicken, (there is nothing but corn on the cob I can eat there)  my kids begged for the longest time for me to make homemade fried chicken.  We don't eat it that often because it is fried, but when I do, I have to make a big batch because the kids gobble it up faster that a hungry dog. 

This week I made it and as my oldest daughter helped she was asking how I came up with the recipe for it to be gluten free.  I started thinking a long time ago about how I could cook something with cornmeal and it not taste to corny.  So I started experimenting with a combination of flours until I came up with this one.  It fries normal, and you can't taste a difference in the fried product.  

I have 4 kids that are growing, one of them being a teenage boy, so I double this recipe for my family, but you can adjust it for your family.  

Gluten Free Fried Chicken Tenders

1 1/2 cup corn meal

1 cup gluten free flour mix (see previous recipe for this)

1 tsp powdered onion

1 tsp powdered garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp curry

4 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp water

10-15 chicken tenders, depending on size

Oil in cooking pan

Thoroughly mix first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, beet eggs and water.  Heat oil in a medium to large pan over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Drop a pinch of flour in oil to see if it bubbles.  When oil is hot enough, start dipping the tenders in the egg mixture, making sure that the tender is thoroughly coated.  Then dip in flour mixture, making sure it is thoroughly covered.  Carefully place in oil.  Fry for 4-5 minutes, and then flip over and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes until flour mixture is turning a golden brown.  Put on a plate coated with a paper towel to help collect any oil that drains off of the fried chicken.

This serves about 4-5, depending on the size of the tenders.

I also at one point in my adult life was re-reading the grapes of wrath and developed a gluten free form of fried mush with the left over flour and eggs that I some times have,  if I run out of chicken tenders first. This recipe is not exactly like in the book, but it is a gluten free form that helps prevent wasting any of the expensive flour.

I will mix the leftover flour with the eggs.  If it is too thick, I just add some water to make it the consistency of pancake dough.  I then drop it off in small portions in the already hot oil to fry for 3-5 minutes on each side.  It makes for a delicious breakfast fasty when I am in a rush in the mornings.  Just re-heat and go!  My kids like it, too.