Flaky Coconut Chicken

I make coconut chicken tenders on occasion, and serve them with a jalapeno sauce. So tasty. I don't make them often because they are so time consuming. You wouldn't think so, but as much food as I have to prepare to feed everyone in my house, that is a TON of chicken tenders to coat, press, flip, press and transfer to baking sheet. It wouldn't be a big deal if I weren't feeding three guys, but since I am...

I love the Paleo Chick-Fil-A strips inspired by Stupid Easy Paleo. Similar problem with the time on these, too. Marinade, dump, mix seasonings, coat, dip, smush, then fry - and only so many fit in a pan at a time. So tasty, but it seems to take forever. I really like using coconut flour as a coating, but because it absorbs so much moisture, you absolutely have to fry them (yep, I learned that one the hard way).

But it got me thinking. Coconut is a great coating, but because shredded coconut is so thick you have to work to get it to stick to the chicken without falling off. Even the finer shreds require some work. So, I pulled out my handy dandy BlendTec and pulsed it until it came close in consistency to a flour.

This worked out better than I could have hoped, and it allowed me to bake them! There's still some fat because we're using coconut oil, but it's much better than shallow frying them.

Ingredients:
1 package chicken tenders (about 2.5 pounds)
1/2 lemon
Drizzle olive oil
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp corriander
Sea salt & ground black pepper
1 egg
2 T. coconut oil

Directions:
Rinse chicken tenders and put in a large mixing bowl. Juice the half lemon over the chicken and drizzle a litte olive oil (about 1/2 tablespoon). Toss tenders with tongs and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Pulse coconut shreds in the blender or food processor until it resembles a coarse flour, stopping to scrape the sides as necessary. The amount of time will depend on how thick your coconut is shredded to start. Transfer coconut to a gallon sized bag, ideally one with a slider top. Sprinkle onion powder, corriander, salt and pepper into bag, close and shake gently to combine.

Whisk egg, then pour over chicken. Toss with tongs. Pick up one piece of chicken at a time, shaking off any excess egg, and transfer to bag of coconut. Once all tenders are in the bag, blow some air into the bag and seal. Shake bag, turning over so that sides of all tenders are exposed to the coconut.

Melt coconut oil in a small bowl. Use a silicone pastry brush to coat the foil-lined baking sheet with about half of the coconut oil. Remove tenders from bag and arrange in a single layer on oil-covered baking sheet. Use the pastry brush to drizzle remaining coconut oil over the chicken tenders. You don't want to brush it on, because you will take the coconut off. Just touch lightly with the tip of the brush.

Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, flip tenders, and cook an additional 4-5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

If you want a crispier coating, reduce baking time on each side by a minute or two. Put chicken under a broiler for about 30 seconds on each side. Watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn.

Serve with vegetables!