Honey BBQ Chicken Bites with Mac & Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken
chicken tenders (bite-sized)
600 g
buttermilk
120 ml
hot sauce
60 ml
salt
5 g
black pepper
3 g
garlic powder
3 g
onion powder
3 g
paprika
3 g
cayenne pepper
1 g
flour
120 g
cornstarch
8 g
Mac & Cheese
butter
28 g
garlic (minced)
10 g
flour
8 g
heavy cream
240 ml
cream cheese
113 g
evaporated milk
355 ml
sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
227 g
colby jack cheese (shredded)
227 g
mozzarella cheese (shredded)
454 g
salt
3 g
onion powder
2 g
white pepper
2 g
elbow macaroni (cooked)
454 g
pasta water
60 ml
BBQ Coating
butter
28 g
BBQ sauce
120 ml
honey
60 ml
Instructions
Prepare chicken
Cut chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne.
Make wet batter
Mix buttermilk with hot sauce in a bowl.
Marinate chicken
Add chicken pieces to buttermilk mixture and let marinate for 15 minutes.
Prepare dry coating
Mix flour, cornstarch, and seasonings in a separate bowl.
Coat chicken
Remove chicken from marinade and coat thoroughly in seasoned flour mixture.
Fry chicken bites
Fry chicken pieces in hot oil until golden brown and cooked through.
Make cheese sauce
Melt butter, cook garlic, whisk in flour, then gradually add cream, evaporated milk, and cheeses until smooth.
Cook macaroni
Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions, reserving pasta water.
Combine mac and cheese
Mix cooked pasta with cheese sauce, adding pasta water as needed for creaminess.
Assemble and bake
Layer half the mac and cheese in baking dish, add remaining cheese, top with remaining pasta and cheese.
Bake mac and cheese
Bake at 175°C for 20 minutes until bubbly, then broil for 1 minute for golden top.
Prepare BBQ coating
Melt butter with BBQ sauce and honey in a pan.
Coat chicken with BBQ sauce
Add fried chicken bites to BBQ mixture and toss until fully coated.
Serve
Serve honey BBQ chicken bites alongside creamy mac and cheese.
Original recipe
Storage
Store chicken and mac and cheese separately. Reheat mac and cheese with a splash of milk for creaminess.
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