Chicken Fingers

Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers

This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse with modifications to make it more paleo-friendly. I made these on Friday night for dinner. I think they are even better left over and eaten cold. Melvin likes them too.

Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups pecan pieces
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Emeril's Essence, available in the spice section.  It contains paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme.   Or you could season to your own taste.
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into strips 

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 and 1 tablespoon Essence (reserve 2 tsp for egg mixture).  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.

You can make a sauce for dipping if you like. I like them without a sauce.  Emeril's recipe included instructions for making a Honey Mustard Sauce, but I passed on that.