Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Baked, Not Fried

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (50)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(50)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 40 min

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Ingredients

1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
2 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into strips
Chopped parsley, garnish
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pecan pieces, bread crumbs, and Essence. Pulse for 1 minute to combine. Pour into a shallow dish.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, olive oil and remaining 2 teaspoons of Essence. One at a time, dip the chicken into the egg mixture then dredge in the pecan mixture, shaking to remove any excess. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and the crust is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer to 4 plates. Garnish with parsley and serve with the Honey Mustard Dipping sauce on the side.

*Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Creole mustard or other hot whole-grain mustard
Pinch salt
Pinch cayenne, or to taste

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well to combine. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. (Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce will keep, refrigerated in a covered non-reactive container, for 2 weeks.)

Yield: approximately 3/4 cup

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Sherry Winter Park, FL 08-05-2009
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Grigori had great tweeking
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Using the info from grigori's comments, I made the flavors a bouquet of tastebud rapture. I took his idea of adding brown... sugar and candied the pecan halves in a saute pan with 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup white sugar. Stir and watch since they can burn fast. When they start to bubble, watch the liquid portion and when it starts to thicken slightly, remove and spread on parhment placed on a baking sheet in the oven and bake maybe 10 minutes. The pecans dry out and when cool enough to handle, chop the pecans with an old fashioned nut grinder. In the pecan mixture, I used panko instead of bread crumbs. Meanwhile, In the egg mixture I put a capful of orange extract since I had no Grand Mariner. I dried the chicken pieces with a paper towel so the egg mix would stick, I left them in the egg mixture to marinade while the pecans were getting ready. Then when the pecan/panko mix was ready, dredged the chicken pieces in the pecan/panko mixture and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet so it would not stick-no need for greasing and easy cleanup. It was absolutely wonderful. The sweet of the nuts, the orange flavor, the heat of the spices and the tang of the dipping sauce was a taste sensation!! I made plenty of the essence and put it in a jar so next time I will not need to take time for that. Also, I like to have on hand candied pecans because they are wonderful in a salad. That would save some time also. Read more
recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Drew Hermitage, TN 05-17-2009
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Soggy bread crumbs
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I read the instructions wrong and got a mushy coating mix. It says to "pulse" the pecans and bread crumbs for one minute,... not "pulverize" for one minute. I'll try the recipe again though and keep the mix dry. I also substitued Panko for bread crumbs to avoid partially hydrogenated oils in most packaged bread crumbs. Also, I've used packaged crutons ground up in the past instead of bread crumbs. New subject: Has anyone tried freezing the cooked chicken fingers and re-heating? I have a huge party coming up and would like to make things ahead of time.Read more
recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Sheetal Chicago, IL 04-15-2009
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Good Flavor - low Carb!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I thought this was an excellent choice for a low carb, flavorful alternative to fried chicken. I added more cayenne to my... recipe to make it spicy. Also, I would recommend grinding the walnuts well. Next time I make the recipe, I will put a rack in the baking sheet and put the chicken on the rack to add more crisp. Read more
recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Kate San Francisco, CA 10-15-2008
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Meh.
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

Just okay. Felt like something was missing from the batter on the chicken, but for the calories saved in not frying, I'll... take it. I would recommend adding lemon juice to the honey mustard. It brings out the flavors really well.Read more
recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
grigori orlando, FL 10-02-2008
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Pretty Good, but needed a little tweeking
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I made the recipe and it was pretty good, but I thought it could be better. I wanted the flavor of the pecans to "pop" more... and less from the bread crumbs. On the 2nd try I added 1/2 c of dark brown sugar and substituted the regular bread crumbs for plain Panko bread crumbs to the dry mix. I also added a shot of Grand Marnier to wet mix and pan roasted the pecans for a few minutes. After preping the chicken, I covered it and let it sit in the fridge for 20mins. before putting in the oven. Obviously all this added a bit more prep time, but WOW!!!! Such an improvement for very little extra effortRead more
recipe Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Kim Conklin, NY 10-01-2008
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what went wrong
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I made these chicken fingers for a tailgate party. The coating was extremely sloppy and difficult to make look uniform. The... coating never really crisped up or even adhered to the chicken. Our guests thought the tasted very good, I just suggested they close their eyes while eating them., because ,frankly, they didn't look very appetizng.Read more