Cracker-Crust Chicken Strips
Cheese crackers crushed into breading, baked over foil-packet coals or a camp oven.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 61
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Snack
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boneless skinless chicken tenders | 1 lb | frozen at home, thawing in the cooler counts as day one of the trip |
|---|---|---|
| Cheddar ranch cheese crackers | 2 cups | crushed to crumbs before you leave |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the shelf-stable green-can kind |
| Powdered egg whites | 2 tbsp plus 4 tbsp water | stands in for 2 beaten egg whites, no shell to pack out |
| Oil | 1 tbsp | for the pan or a light coat on top |
Method
- Build a bed of coals and set the dutch oven to preheat, lid on, with coals under it and a ring on top. You want steady moderate heat, not a roaring fire.
- Stir the powdered egg white into 4 tbsp of water in a cup or bag. Let it sit a minute until it stops being grainy.
- Combine the cracker crumbs and parmesan in a second bag.
- Dip each tender in the egg wash, then drop it in the crumb bag and shake until coated.
- Oil the bottom of the oven or lay in a sheet of foil. Arrange the tenders in one layer, not touching.
- Bake 16 to 20 minutes with more coals on the lid than underneath. Cut into the thickest one to check: no pink, juices clear.
The crackers do two jobs at once. They are already seasoned and already salted, so the breading needs nothing else, and the fat baked into them browns the crust without a fryer. Crush them fine at home; large shards fall off the moment you turn a tender.
Powdered egg white replaces fresh eggs here, which is the one real change from a kitchen version. It rehydrates into a thin coating that grips crumbs just as well and lets you carry the binder in a jar instead of a carton. The chicken still needs a cooler, so this is a first-night car-camping dinner, not a backpacking one.
Packing
Crush the crackers at home and bag them with the parmesan. Chicken goes into the cooler frozen solid and gets cooked the first night. Powdered egg white travels in a film canister or small jar.
Variations
- A foil packet on campfire coals works if you have no dutch oven, though the crust steams instead of crisping.
- Stir a spoonful of hot sauce into the egg wash.
- Shelf-stable ranch dressing packets from a deli make the dip without a cooler.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/crunchy-baked-zesty-cheddar-ranch-chicken-tenders