Pulling Matzo from its Dark Lair

Pretty regularly I open my pantry, see an item, and tell myself “I gotta make something with that to use it up.” While that bounces between a number of items, there was this opened box of Matzo crackers that had been taunting me for months. I’d see them, think I’d need to use them up and as soon as the pantry door closed, WHOOSH!, out of sight, out of mind!

This last time, I reached in and yanked them from their dark lair and put them on the counter until I made the menu for the week. There is just no hiding from The Ranting Menu Planner.

They were just OK. I know why, and it was not the fault of the recipe. I had made these years ago and remember them as being much better.

There is the box. I finally had it cornered. I used thin cut chicken breasts and made my own tenders from there.

Instead of the matzo meal called for in the recipe, I decided to make my own. A few pulses in the food processor would do it.

After some pulses, I looked and saw some fine grains at the bottom, but much of it was tiny flakes. I thought that it might add an interesting texture over the dust that was called for. I figured enough of the dust would coat the “open areas” on the tenders where the flakes did not reside.

The tenders ready for the oven.

Ok. The texture didn’t work. Use the meal, or really grind the crackers down.

Matzo Meal Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts or 2 packages pre-cut chicken tenders
• 2 cups matzo meal (you can substitute 1 cup with whole wheat matzo meal)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425℉. If using chicken breasts, slice the breasts into 1″ wide by 3″ long pieces, they don’t have to be perfect. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Look how dark the yolks are, those are farm fresh eggs for ya! I’ve learned that the darker the yolk, the more nutritious it is, so go get your farm fresh eggs! Support your local farmers 🙂

2. In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix together.

3. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. For easier cleanup, line with foil and grease the foil! Dip each strip of chicken into the egg….(feel free to use your hands, I only used tongs so I could take pictures while I cooked!)

then into the matzo meal….be sure to coat completely! You want to lock in the moisture and allow the tenders to be juicy.

4. After each strip is coated with matzo meal, place onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each piece to let them brown on all sides.

5. When the cookie sheet is full place it in the oven and turn the temperature down to 375℉.

6. Bake for 6-7 minutes on one side, allowing the strips to brown on the top. Then, flip each strip over and bake for another 7-8 minutes to ensure the strips are cooked through.

Source: http://rachel.daneman.com/posts/matzo-meal-chicken-tenders