Recipe: A Plate of Spicy Chicken Tenders From Leonard’s House of Love Chef Baden Stringer

Ever since Leonard’s House of Love opened in 2015, there’s been an unassuming menu item that keeps people coming back for more – if they can handle the heat.

Leonard’s fried chicken tenders with a XXX glaze is a share dish for two that combines a chilli-driven duck-fat glaze with a layered mix of flours to create an upmarket answer to Nashville-style hot chicken. No wonder it’s been such a long-lasting hit for the 1970s-influenced bar in South Yarra.

“For people who are hunting spice, it’s a fan favourite,” says Leonard’s head chef Baden Stringer. “There are people who absolutely chase that burn. It’s a proceed-with-cautious one, but it’s got a notorious cult following.”

Stringer has created a modified version of the recipe for Broadsheet readers to make at home. It’ll give you around six tenders, so it can work as either a side, a main, a share plate or just as a solo treat.

It’s an easy process, too: just stick to the suggested oil temperature and follow the repeated steps for coating the chicken in flour and egg whites. And thanks to the mingling of plain, potato, rice and corn flour, it has great crunch.

“The flour is really the star,” says Stringer. “Obviously the sauce has a lot of flavour, but the flour is what really brings the texture to the chicken. It makes it light and crispy.”

As for the aforementioned spice level, Stringer describes it as “massive” – though when you’re making this at home, you can adjust the blend of individual chilli powders depending on your personal taste and which ones you’re able to source most easily. Serving the finished tenders with white bread and a cold dill pickle also cuts through the heat a bit, as well as containing the sauce along the way.

Another way to balance that blossom of heat is with a crisp beer such as Coopers Original Pale Ale. “Spicy food and beer are a match made in heaven,” says Stringer. “It heats you up and the cold beer refreshes you.”

As for Coopers Pale specifically, make sure you give the bottle or can a gentle roll across a flat surface before opening to complete the final bit of fermentation that unlocks the beer’s cloudy character and full range of flavours, allowing it to play well with the chicken tenders’ aromatics. That, in combination with the rich glaze, seals the dish’s appeal.

“It all vibes well with those fragrant spices,” says Stringer. “It really does light up your senses. That’s the charm of it.”

XXX chicken tenders for two
Serves 2
Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken tenders
100g plain flour
100g potato flour
200g rice flour
200g corn flour
20g smoked paprika
10g garlic powder
10g onion powder
10g salt
100g egg whites, lightly beaten
300g chicken tenderloins
2L canola, peanut or vegetable oil

XXX duck fat glaze
10g ancho chilli powder
20g chipotle chilli powder
20g pasilla chilli powder
10g cayenne chilli powder
10g habanero chilli powder
30g all spice powder
5g onion powder
10g garlic powder
30g tomato ketchup
200g duck fat
10g salt

Method:
Weigh all types of flour and combine in a medium bowl. Add spices and seasonings and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites well. Massage chicken tenderloins in the flour mix, dusting off the excess. Place the chicken into the egg white bowl and mix, ensuring that every part of the chicken is covered. Repeat these steps (flour, egg white, flour), until a thick dredged batter has formed. Set aside for deep frying.

Fill a large heavy-based pot halfway with oil and place onto a low heat. Raise heat slowly to 185°C, using a thermometer to measure heat of the oil. Once at temperature, gently place the chicken in the oil, making sure the tenders don’t clump together. Let them cook for about 5 minutes or until they hit an internal temperature of 74°C. Remove the chicken and briefly drain.

For the glaze, melt duck fat in a small saucepan. Add spices and gently cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Paint or drizzle onto cooked chicken.

Serve on a slice of white bread with a side of dill pickles.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Coopers.