Football Eats 12: Baked Honey-Mustard Pretzel Chicken Tenders

Looking back at all the Football Eats this fall, it's not a particularly healthy list. Not that I care. The point of the food was stuff to eat while watching football; the only standard I asked myself was "Does this sound good?" If that meant corned beef piled onto fried potato pancakes or pork stuffed into a tortilla and fried, then so be it.

But I'm heading back to California today for a long vacation, and I have quite a few places at which I want to eat. I imagine it will be the least-healthy stretch I have had in quite a while. So I decided on Saturday to make something that wasn't fried. Years ago I used to make chicken tenders baked with crushed potato chips, and for a minute that appealed to me, but then I decided to add another angle: use pretzels instead.

I decided I wanted honey mustard pretzels, so these are what I used.

I grabbed them a handful at a time, crushing them and dropping them into this dish. Then I pounded on them a bit with a potato masher.

I got these chicken tenders at the store across the street. I rolled each one in flour, dipped it into a bowl of egg whites, and then dredged it though the pretzels. I baked them all in the oven (375 degrees) for twenty minutes.

I decided that, to accompany the mustard-flavored pretzels, I would only use mustard dipping sauces. I used a bottled "spicy honey mustard," Sticky Fingers "Carolina Classic" sauce, and one I made myself:


I used whole grain mustard, diced green onion, red wine vinegar and olive oil. This was definitely my favorite of the three.

The chicken tenders themselves were really good. As good as they would have been if I'd battered and fried them? No, probably not. But the chicken was juicy and that pretzel coating was crispy, hot, and delicious. I would have no problem making these again, even if I'm not trying to go a healthier route.