Hello, wonderful citizens. Welcome to another unprecedented, mouth-watering Basket Review.
I’ve been wanting to conduct this review for a long time and I finally got around to it. I made my own chicken strips.
I made two batches. I wasn’t very satisfied with the first, so a couple days later I went back and made a couple tweaks for better results.
A quick rundown of the process:
I crushed up some Flamin Hot Cheetos in a bowl with a wine bottle and added garlic powder, black pepper and cajun seasoning. A normal person would use a rolling pin, but I don’t have one. In a separate bowl, I whisked one egg and in another bowl I poured some flour.
I cut a chicken breast into portions and then used my hand to pound them slightly thinner. Again, a normal person would use like a meat tenderizer, but I don’t have that. I’m not Bobby Flay.
I then coated the chicken in flour, dipped it in egg and then coated it with my Hot Cheeto breading. I stuck my breaded chicken in the air fryer for about 12 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
My first time around, I didn’t add the extra seasonings to the Cheeto coating or make the chicken any thinner. I found my second batch to have better crunch and more Hot Cheeto flavor, which is what I wanted to happen.
The meat itself was nice in the quality department, but could’ve used more flavor. Next time I make breaded chicken, I’m going to brine it beforehand. The breading came out nice and crispy. The Hot Cheeto flavor wasn’t quite as prominent as I wanted, but it was certainly present.
I changed up my condiment game a bit for this review. I had some of my classic ranch, but also found some Hidden Valley Spicy Secret Sauce. Let me tell you, that sauce is incredible. If you see it at the grocery store, buy two. Both of these sauce choices paired well with the Hot Cheeto chicken strips.
I didn’t eat the fries with my basket, but a friend (shoutout Carson) recommended Checkers and Rally’s frozen seasoned fries that I tried in a separate meal. Carson, thank you. The fries were delicious. They’re the perfect size and have good seasoning and crisp. I’d say they’re my favorite frozen fries I’ve had.
Overall, I’ll give myself a 7.1. It was a good basket, but there are aspects I can improve. The chicken itself was a little bland, but I liked my Hot Cheeto coating quite a bit. I’ll most certainly try making my own chicken strips again, and, though it feels very odd to review myself, I’ll blog about them.
thrillswithjmills.com 