Almost ordered takeout, then I remembered I had a bunch of chicken tenders sitting in the fridge that needed to be used up. My partner has been talking about those Jack Daniels chicken strips from TGI Fridays for weeks, so I figured this was the perfect excuse to try making a copycat version at home. I was a little nervous about frying since I always worry about oil temperature and things coming out soggy, but honestly this turned out way better than I expected. Wrote down everything I did here in case it helps anyone: [https://www.amgroyal.com/tgi-fridays-jack-daniels-chicken](https://www.amgroyal.com/tgi-fridays-jack-daniels-chicken)  
  
Here's what I used:  
  
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders  
peanut oil (or vegetable/canola oil) enough to fill a large heavy bottomed pot about 2 inches deep  
  
Breading  
1 cup all purpose flour  
1 cup panko breadcrumbs  
1 Tbsp sesame seeds  
1 tsp paprika  
3/4 tsp kosher salt  
1/2 tsp garlic powder  
1/4 tsp black pepper  
  
Egg wash  
2 large eggs lightly beaten  
1/4 cup buttermilk or regular milk  
  
Sauce and garnish  
1 cup whiskey glaze more or less, to taste  
additional sesame seeds for garnish  
minced fresh parsley for garnish  
  
Here's how it went:  
  
1. Added oil to my dutch oven and heated it over medium heat until it hit 350 degrees. I set a wire rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet nearby because things move fast once you start frying.  
  
2. Sliced the chicken tenders lengthwise in half so you get thinner strips. This step actually makes a big difference for getting that crispy to meat ratio right.  
  
3. Set up a little breading station with two shallow bowls. One had all the dry breading stuff mixed together, the other had the eggs and buttermilk beaten together.  
  
4. Breaded each strip by going dry first, then egg wash, then back into the dry breading again. The double dip into the flour mixture is what gives you that really solid crust.  
  
5. Laid the breaded strips on a wax paper lined plate while I waited for the oil to be fully ready.  
  
6. Fried about 4 to 5 strips at a time for roughly 5 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Doing smaller batches keeps the oil temperature from dropping too much.  
  
7. Moved finished strips to the wire rack to drain, then when everything was done I tossed them all in a big bowl with the whiskey glaze.  
  
8. Served them up with extra sauce on the side and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and parsley on top.  
  
A few things I noticed along the way:  
  
The double breading step is not optional in my opinion. I tried to rush one batch and skipped the second coat on a couple pieces and they came out noticeably less crunchy. Do the full process, it takes an extra two minutes and it matters.  
  
Fair warning, the whiskey glazed chicken gets sticky fast once you toss it, so I'd do that right before serving and not let it sit in the bowl. The coating kind of softens if it sits too long.  
  
I used vegetable oil instead of peanut oil just because that's what I had, and it worked totally fine. No real difference that I could tell.  
  
The parsley is easy to skip but don't. It sounds like a nothing garnish but it actually brightens the whole dish up, especially against all that dark sticky glaze.  
  
My partner said it tasted really close to the restaurant version which I was not expecting to hear. Weeknight dinner win for sure, especially for a copycat TGI Fridays Jack Daniels chicken situation where I was fully prepared for it to be a disappointment. The whole thing took maybe 45 minutes start to finish which is honestly not bad at all for fried chicken with a homemade glaze.  
  
Anyone else made a whiskey glazed chicken like this at home? Curious if you tweaked the sauce at all or kept it pretty close to the original.

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