If you have never had Chick-fil-A Chicken, then I have to say, you are missing out! It is definitely my favorite fast food chicken. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) where we live now is 30 minutes from the closest Chick-fil-A. We are about 30 minutes from everything, but that’s a different story! I started seeing copycat recipes floating all around Pinterest, and it peaked my curiosity. Could it possible to make this awesome chicken at home?! I had to give it a shot, especially since my last restaurant copycat recipe turned out so well! I adapted this recipe from Food.com.
Copycat Chick-fil-a Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenders
- 1 cup dill pickle juice
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Oil for frying Chick-fil-a uses peanut oil, I used canola
Instructions
- Place chicken in a plastic bag or covered dish with pickle juice.
- Marinate for at least an hour (but preferably overnight)
- Beat eggs in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken into.
- Mix flour, sugar, and all of the spices in another shallow bowl or plate
- Remove chicken from the pickle juice and drain well. (dispose of pickle juice)
- Dip the chicken into the egg wash and then into the flour mixture, completely covering chicken.
- Fry the chicken using your preferred method. (I used a Fry Daddy, and cooked my chicken in batches.)
Verdict? This was really good! Of course, I’m a Southern gal that grew up eating fried chicken, and I still love it. I rarely eat it anymore, but it’s good stuff. But how did it compare to CFA? Well, it was close…but not exact. However, I also did not use peanut oil, and I’ve been told that yields the best flavor for chicken. Even though it wasn’t an exact match, my family loved this recipe so that makes it a keeper in my book! I want to make this again, but a baked version. I know that won’t taste like Chick-fil-a!
What about you? Do you have any restaurant copycat recipes that have turned out well?
Here are some others you can check out if interested: Goat Cheese Biscuits (these look amazing! Copycat from Table Fifty Two), Bowtie Festival (a copycat version of Johnny Carino’s Bowtie Festival), and Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana (a lighter version). Who needs restaurants?! (Okay, I do…who wants to cook ALL the time!)
KimM is a contributing writer for Eat at Home. See more from her at her blog Makin’ it Mo’Betta, and follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter!
Pickle juice…..really?!?! I would have never thought of that!! Might have to give this a try…LOVE Chickfila 🙂 Especiall their sweet tea.
The ingredient list does not include sugar. The directions do. How much sugar needs to be added (I’m assuming to the flour mixture)?
Duh…I saw the powdered sugar!!
I tried the one that was featured in Food Network magazine a while back and my kids thought it was a pretty good replica. It actually called for malted milk powder if I remember correctly.
I have a soup recipe that was intended to be a copy of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana. It ended up not being as close a copy as I’d intended, but I like my version better.