Pretzel Crusted Chicken (& Honey Mustard Sauce)

close up shot of pretzel chicken drizzled with honey mustard sauce on small white plate

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Pretzel Crusted Chicken (& Honey Mustard Sauce)

Here I'll share with you how to make crunchy and juicy pretzel chicken alongside a delicious bonus sauce!

Prep Time25

Cook Time10

Total Time35

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Western

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £4 / $5

Equipment

Food Processor or Zip-Lock Bag & Rolling Pin (for crushing pretzels)
Small Mixing Bowl (for sauce)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
3 Large Shallow Dishes
Large Tray & Wire Rack
Large Pan & Tongs (preferably cast-iron/heavy-based)
Kitchen Thermometer

Ingredients

Sauce

5 tbsp full-fat Mayo
3 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Classic Yellow Mustard
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/8 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder

Chicken

100g / 3.5oz Pretzels (see notes)
2x 250g/9oz Chicken Breasts
35g / 1/4 cup Plain Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
2 tsp Paprika
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano, Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
180ml / 3/4 cup Veg Oil (or as needed)
Flaky Sea Salt, to serve
finely diced Fresh Chives, to serve

Instructions

Combine all of the sauce ingredients and adjust seasoning if needed. You can easily tweak the heat with mustard, sweetness with honey and creaminess with mayo to suit your tastebuds.
Place the pretzels in a food processor and blitz to a coarse crumb texture. Alternatively you can place them in zip-lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Line up 3 large shallow dishes: the first with flour, second with beaten eggs and the third with crushed pretzels. In a small bowl combine the paprika, salt, onion & garlic powder, oregano, black pepper & cayenne pepper. Mix half into the flour and half into the pretzels.
Horizontally slice the chicken breasts right through the centre to create 4 even-sized cutlets. Take one cutlet and coat it in flour, then egg and finish with the pretzels. Make sure you thoroughly coat at each stage (namely the pretzels). Place on a tray and repeat with the remaining cutlets.
Add enough oil to comfortably coat the base of a pan and turn the heat to medium. Heat the oil to 180C/350F (a crumb should rapidly sizzle) then carefully place in two cutlets. Fry for 3-4mins on each side, or until deep golden, visibly crisp and piping hot/white through the centre, then place on a wire rack. Top up oil if needed and bring back to temp then repeat.
Serve with a pinch of sea salt and chives then tuck in with the sauce drizzled on top or as a dip to one side. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Sauce - Feel free to make this ahead of time and tightly store in the fridge until needed.

b) Pretzels - I use 'Penn State Baked Original Sea Salted Pretzels'. I also love finishing with a pinch of sea salt to really highlight the gorgeous saltiness of the pretzels. When you crush them, you're looking for some fine crumb with so more coarse pieces (see video/photos for reference).

c) Frying - I did test with baking and air frying and they didn't come close to shallow frying. The pretzel coating just dries out and doesn't crisp up as well. A medium heat should give you a nice crispy coating, but just use your best judgement if you need to tweak it a little higher or lower (you can peak underneath after a minute or so to see how it's looking).

d) Serving - I often serve this for Dinner with a side salad and some Wedges. It also makes a really nice Lunch sliced up in a wrap too.

e) Calories - Per cutlet assuming 2 tsp oil soaked up. Slight overestimate as not all the flour, egg and pretzel is used. The whole sauce is 682 calories.

Nutrition