Epic Sunday Brunch – Chicken and Waffles!!

I picked up some frozen chicken tenderloins at Wal-Mart the other day… I was kind of curious how they would do in this dish.

I took 5 tenderloins out early in the morning to let them thaw so we could get started as soon as my Sweetie got home from Church. With about an hour to go (around 10 O’Clock or so), I put them in a big Zip Lock bag and added some Kosher Dill Pickle juice as a marinade/brine (for the last hour).

They had thawed enough to take some of it on.

I then whisked 1 egg as a wash. I would (normally – see notes) bread in the following:

My Chicken Nugget/Strip Breading:

1 T Almond Flour
1 t Baking powder
1 T Paprika
1 t Onion Powder (that’s a SMALL t – for teaspoon)
1 t Garlic Powder (that’s a SMALL t – for teaspoon)
Plenty of Salt and Black Pepper (a little Cayenne might not hurt)…

Note: However, I skipped the above step because I had a left-over batch of CarbQuick in the fridge already seasoned correctly – lots of Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Cayenne.  Well – it was close enough!!

Take it straight out of the Pickle Brine, into the egg wash and dredge in the coating…

Listen – don’t freak out over CarbQuick. Is it grain – Yes. Is it Low Carb – YES. It only has a carb count of 3 net grams per 1/3rd Cup. Is it something you should use as a staple – probably not. In fact, I don’t use it that much. In lot of things, it just doesn’t do so well.

I use it in CarbQuick in three primary ways – ONLY.  As an easy breading for Fresh Oysters, for Shrimp (if I need a coating)… and in the Diet 7-up biscuits.

That’s it… so you might see a CarbQuick recipe out of me from time to time. This only means we eat a tiny bit of this “slightly sketchy” Low Carb product about once every other month or so. No biggie. We also carefully monitor how it affects us. We weight every morning.

Next I put the strips down in Peanut Oil at 375 degrees for 8-10 min. Mine too exactly 8 ½ min to be perfectly done. WHOA!! They were plump, moist and juicy.

I really like the Pickle Brine routine. I think it adds to the plump, juicy factor.

On another related note – Chicken Nuggets, depending on their size are more like in the 4-6 minute range – mine are usually perfect at 5 min… same oil – same temp.

For the Waffles I did a Pecan Protein Waffle – VERY low carb count.

Protein Waffles

2 eggs, beaten
1 Scoop Quest, unflavored, all – purpose mix (1 gram – natural Carb count)
¼ t Baking Powder
2 T Kosher Philly Cream Cheese (softened in microwave)
Cinnamon, a splash of Sugar Free Vanilla flavoring – a couple of drops of liquid Sucralose and a splash of Maple extract…

Whisk thoroughly – if it gets too gooey just add a little water, won’t hurt a thing.

Next add about a half a hand full of chopped Pecans in the batter – not too many, the lid won’t shut right.

Preheat the Waffle iron – give the Waffle maker a shot of cooking spray, pour the mix in and 3 minutes later – Boom. Waffle!!

Trim it – plate it… add a pat or two of butter in the middle, stack the Chicken – then douse it with “Sweet and Sassy” topping.

Sweet and Sassy Waffle topping

½ C Sugar Free Syrup – the kind you would find at most grocery stores
¼ C Valentina hot sauce (Salsa Picante)
Pretty generous portion of Cinnamon
1 T Maple Extract
Whisk together…

(this was enough for two full servings)

And there is our Epic Low Carb Sunday Brunch…

The End