Sweet Tea Oven-Fried Chicken Sliders w/Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Slaw + Crispy Onions.
Could my recipe names be any longer?
Actually, there is also a little chipotle honey drizzle, but somehow I stopped myself from throwing that in there too.
I have issues. Issues with trying to stuff way too much good stuff in one itty bitty slider bun. I had all these flavors going through my head, and then I just couldn’t stop with just one. The slaw is must, the crispy onions are the perfect topper and while the chipotle honey drizzle is not a must, it is pretty darn good.
It’s a little sweet, a little spicy and all things good, spring/summer and barbecue cookin. Although, I will never understand why fried chicken is consider a barbecue summertime food. I mean, it’s fried (or in this case oven-fried) and has nothing to do with the grill? Who knows and who cares, it’s a southern classic and I don’t see many people complaining about it.
Ok, but sweet tea? How do we feel about it?
Personally tea of any kind of makes me gag. I know that is horrible and a little weird, but no matter how many times I try to force myself to drink it, and try to like it, I just can’t.
Same with coffee. Well, coffee does not make me gag, I just do not like it. It’s probably because I have only ever tried it black, very BLACK. It’s the way my dad drinks it, so that’s just what I went for.
I am thinking of trying ice coffee this summer though. I think I could really benefit from some caffeine these days.
Anyway, using sweet tea for brining chicken, that is one way I can handle tea.
And kind of fun too. I just like telling people, “oh, it’s Sweet Tea Oven-Fried Chicken”. It just sounds good… or at least I think it does.
Sooo, these sliders kind of have a lot going on, and yeah, they are a tad high maintenance for a slider.
BUT they are worth it. You can make things easier on yourself by prepping pretty much everything in advance if you wish. Perfect for Memorial Day which is somehow only a week from today.
Memorial Day already? How is that even possible? Asher only has nine days left of school and then it is summer vacay for her. I have to say, I am pretty jealous of all the kids in school that are now heading into summer. That whole mindset of summer – no school, no homework, no set plans and nothing but time, swimming and warm summer nights sounds pretty incredible.
Sometimes I feel like I skipped a little too fast into adulthood, but then not really because I am so happy with where I am at. I wouldn’t do anything differently.
Well, that and I can’t actually sit without doing something for more than like fifteen minutes.
After fifteen minutes I start to get bored and have to come up with something productive to do. So while the thought of being bored and without a care in the world sounds kind of nice, in reality I could never actually do it.
What I can do is pile a lot of things on a slider.
Actually, I did have slider size buns, but by the time I piled on all the topping these things were kind of huge. In a good way, of course.
Really though, you have to make these sometime this late spring/summer. They are just the perfect warm weather, feel good kind of food.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Sweet Tea Oven-Fried Chicken Sliders w/ Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Slaw + Crispy Onions.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cheddar, chicken, jalepeno, sliders, sweet tea
It's a little sweet, a little spicy and all things good, spring/summer and barbecue cookin.
Ingredients
Sliders
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cut into slider size pieces
- 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups sweet tea
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 cups corn flake crumbs
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- a good pinch of pepper
- 8-12 [cornbread brioche slider buns | https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/salted-honey-butter-cornbread-brioche-burger-buns/] or your favorite slider buns buttered + toasted
Crispy Onions
- 2 large white onions halved and then sliced very thin
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- pinch of pepper + cayenne pepper
- oil for frying
Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Slaw
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage or cabbage slaw
- 2 ears [grilled corn | https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/exactly-how-i-grill-my-corn-chipotle-lime-and-cotija-cheese-butter/] kernels removed from the cob
- 2 jalapeños seeded + chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese diced
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- pinch of salt and pepper
Chipotle Honey
- 1/3 cup honey warmed
- 1 chipotle chili minced
Instructions
Sliders
-
Add the chicken to a large bowl and pour the buttermilk, sweet tea and salt over the chicken. Toss well, cover and refrigerate overnight.
-
The next day preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat, foil or parchment paper and spray or brush with olive oil.
-
Add the corn flakes crumbs, flour, seasoned salt, cayenne and pepper to medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.
-
Remove each piece of chicken from the buttermilk, and dredge through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been used. Make sure not to crowd your pan, if necessary use two baking sheets. Lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray or a mist of olive oil. Drizzle the 4 tablespoons melted butter over the chicken.
-
Bake for 10-12 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees F. Bake for 10-12 minutes more, then flip the chicken over and gently spray with olive oil. Place back in oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clean. Serve with the slaw, crispy onions and chipotle cheddar (all below).
Crispy Onions
-
Add the sliced onions to a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over top. Use your hand to submerge the onions in the buttermilk. Allow the onions to sit in the buttermilk 30 minutes to 1 hour.
-
Meanwhile add the flour, salt, pinch of cayenne and pinch of pepper to a bowl and give it a good toss.
-
When ready to fry the onions heat a large pot of oil until it reaches 375 degrees F. or until a pinch of flour sizzles when sprinkled over the pot.
-
Remove a handful of onions from the buttermilk and place them into the flour mixture. Coat the onions in the flour mixture, and then tap them on the inside of the bowl to shake off the excess.
-
Carefully drop the onions into the hot oil. With a spoon, fiddle with them a bit just to break them up. Watch the onions closely as they cook quick! After about 1 or 2 minutes, they should be golden brown, remove from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining onion slices. Onions are best served right away, but can be reheated in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes, watching them closely and making sure they do not burn.
Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Slaw
-
In a bowl toss together the grilled corn, shredded cabbage, jalapeños, chopped parsley or cilantro, lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve. Just before serving stir in the cheddar cheese.
Chipotle Honey
-
In a bowl mix together honey and chipotle pepper. Serve drizzled over the chicken.
To assemble
-
Place a piece of warm chicken on the bottom of each slider bun, drizzle with the chipotle honey. Top with slaw and crispy onions. SERVE!
Recipe Notes
*Everything for the sliders can be prepped in advance. You can bake the chicken right before serving or re-heat the already baked chicken in a 300 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. If possible, try to serve everything as fresh as possible. *Crispy Onions adapted from [Food Network | http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/onion-strings-recipe.html].
Told you, a little big for sliders, but SO GOOD!
My one takeaway from this is the chicken, which looks simply epic. This is happening.
Thanks Rachel!!
Ok I just put buttermilk on my grocery list because I am so making these. That chicken looks so good and I love peach tea I drink it every day so brining these in sweet tea sounds perfect.
Thanks so much!! 🙂
Crispy Onions. My heart goes pitter patter.
And I get so tired of grilled chicken and grilled hamburgers every night!
Thanks so much, Laura!!
It’s never just one thing you with! It’s this piled with with this topped with this oh and smothered with this. so much amazing deliciousness. And i’m a sucker for anything with jalapeno cheddar!
Thank you so much, Abigail!!
I can’t handle sweet tea either…I’ve tried so many times to enjoy it but I just can’t! But these sliders I may have to try. Gonna trust you on this one and take a stab at them!
Thanks Meg!! 🙂
I knew these were coming! As soon as I saw those buns, I knew awesomeness would ensue. I recently (finally) got the hand of making buns, and I really want to try your buns (no “bun” intended).
“After fifteen minutes I start to get bored and have to come up with something productive to do.”
That is me exactly! Also like me, is piling WAY to much stuff on a bun. It never stays put. I should try toothpicks!
Thanks Joshua!!
I love tea but I usually order half sweet/half unsweet – otherwise it can be a little too too sweet. But I definitely missed sweet tea when I didn’t live in the south. These look great! At our wedding reception, we had imitation “Chick-fil-A” chicken sandwich sliders and I’m pretty sure they were the most popular item 🙂
Thanks so much!! 🙂
I am super intrigued by the sweet tea marinade! It sounds really really good. And I love sandwiches that have a lot going on–then you don’t need any side dishes, they’re all on your sandwich!
I can’t imagine not liking sweet tea though; right after Coke it’s my favorite thing to drink. Though I would also definitely recommend trying iced coffee this summer; I order mine with cream and classic syrup from Starbucks; it’s always good so I would start there 🙂
Abby
Ice coffee is happening!! Thanks Abby! 🙂
I’m trying hard not to jump into the screen and take a bite but they just looks sooo good!
Thanks Layla!!
I’m new here. A friend sent me. And oh my stinkin’ heck, I just pinned this because I have to make it STAT. I pinned it. You have a new subscriber! 🙂
YA!! Happy to have a new reader. Thanks so much, Jenna!!
We have sandwiches on the mind here too, especially one stacked with coleslaw (in fact, it’s going up Friday, wish we could do some trading). I love the marinade, so creative!
Oh man, I am sure your sandwiches are going to be amazing. Cannot wait!!
Oooo these look epic!!! I want these sliders so bad right now. They’re the perfect summertime meal to have friends over on the deck for!
Thanks Julie!
Oofta these look just awesome! I’m digging the long name, I think it’s completely perfect because it describes all the wonderful flavors you used! Sometimes it’s just gotta be long 😉 Ummm and these cornbread buns look and sound awesome. I never eat cornbread but I did twice last week. I’ve never made it before! I totally need to! Thanks so much!
PS – it took me FOREVER to like tea. Now i’m obsessed!
Thank you!! 🙂
Every component of this dish looks incredible! My favorite way to drink iced tea is with lots of lemonade mixed in. So refreshing and screams summertime. May be a good way to start. More tart than sweet 🙂
Lemonade! That is such a great idea, I will have to try that!! Thanks Liz!
That’s a long title, but the recipe is SO worth every delicious word of it!
Thanks Becca!
These look PHENOMENAL! Pile everything on—I say the more the merrier!
Also, I have such a soft spot in my heart for sweet iced tea, but that could be because I grew up in Florida.
Yes, pile everything on!! Thanks Rachael!!
Woh! These are intense–in such a good way! So creative Tieghan!
Thanks Laura!!
These are the quintessential summer meal, as far as I’m concerned. I’m super intrigued by the incorporation of sweet tea, since, like you, I really haven’t been able to bring myself to like tea, but I trust you know what you’re doing! What a mouth-watering recipe 🙂
THANK YOU! 🙂
I don’t care what you name these, Tieghan, they are amazing!!!
Thanks Matt!
These sliders are a must for Memorial Day, love the crispy onions!
Thanks Laura!
Sooo much yum happening! Absolutely love your twist on classic southern food here!
Thanks Sophia!
Incredibly delicious!
Thanks Meredith!! Hope you had a great day!
Looks so so delicious!!
Thanks so much!! 🙂
Tieghan, you never cease to amaze…
Thank you! 🙂
I am dying over these!! I’ve lived in the South my entire life and I still don’t really like sweet tea. Or any tea. But sweet tea oven-friend chicken, and sweet-tea fried chicken, are two tea-related things that I can get down with. These sliders are out of control! 🙂
YEAH! Thanks Beth!! 🙂
Pure Southern comfort food at its best! This is beautiful, Tieghan. You really know how to make a mouthwatering meal!
Thanks so much, Georgia!
These sliders with the slaw dressing look absolutely wonderful…so delicious and full of flavor! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so very much, Jodee!!
LOVE these! I’m all into anything with jalapeños right now so these are perfect.
Thanks so much!!
Oh I want! Love the favors! Pinned
Thank you, Sommer!!
I’ve really been on an oven-fried chicken/shrimp kick lately – sooo good with the buttermilk and well-seasoned corn flake crumbs coating. Com’on summer food!
Thanks Karen!!
Oh my heavens to Betsy! Need these soon!! YUM and I LOVE sweet tea- but without lemon…:)
Thanks so much, Collette!!
Ok, these sliders look amazing, I mean, really amazing! You’ve got some serious talent, girl!
Thank you so much!
We drink gallons and gallons of sweet tea, I haven’t ever tried using it as a brine but I think this is certainly a good place to try it. So gorgeous!
Thanks!! 🙂
Haha- I aspire to name my recipes as mouthwateringly as you do 🙂 I don’t like sweet tea, but trying it in a marinade sounds good to me.
Thank you!
Whoaaaaa!!!!!! I.LOVE.THESE.SLIDERS. !!!!!!!! 😀 That crisp oven fried chicken is calling my name and you have added sweet tea to the chicken!!!!! OMG! I can’t wait TO TRY THAT!!!!!! I feel the same way about having a lot of free time on my hands! It gets way too boring, so I would prefer getting some work done instead as well! haha! 😀 Pinning!
Thanks Samina!
Yeah, I don’t know if I’d go with the term “slider” due to their size, but they do look delicious! I want those onions so bad. And that corn slaw. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you!
An awesome combo of flavors and textures. I’m hungry!!!
Thank you so much, Brenda!!
Made the chicken sliders the other night for dinner and they were so good. Even the leftovers the next day for lunch were good. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, please. I love the slaw and the chipotle honey drizzle. The chicken looks rather perfect, too!
Thanks Shaina! Hope you are having a great Memorial day weekend!
Can’t wait to try the sliders! Iced coffee is how I learned to like coffee and all of it’s wonderful health benefits. My favorite coffee comes from http://www.arbucklesgourmetcoffee.com where I can order 1.3 oz packets in different flavors. I haven’t found a coffee off the grocery store’s shelf that compares to theirs. My favorite flavors are Amaretto Royal, French Vanilla, and Creme Brulee. I add French Vanilla Coffee-mate, Powdered Coffee Creamer by Nestle, stirring only slightly because I like to taste the texture of the slightly undissolved coffee creamer that comes up through the straw. I put it in one of those hard, BPA-free plastic cups that comes with one of those hard straws and fill it with lots of ice! You can add whipped topping and a maraschino cherry on top if you like.
This sounds really nice, thanks for sharing this…
Simon
The chicken sliders look so amazing.. will be trying this soon.. thanks for sharing 🙂
Cheers
Arpita
Thanks so much! Hope you love them!
Hi! We made these yummy sliders tonight and LOVED them! Thanks so much for sharing. We are thinking about making them for family in a few weeks. Any good ideas for a side dish? Thanks again! 🙂
So, so, so happy you loved these! THANKS!
As for sides I think almost anything goes. Mac and cheese would be awesome and also a salad. Or maybe just some fires? Here is a link to the mac and cheese and also a link to my side recipes. Hope that helps!
This sounds really good,love jalapenos, thanks for sharing this…
Simon
Thanks!
We made these for dinner tonight and I just – they taste fantastic. So freaking good. It’s a lot of work (and dishes! I managed to use all of my mixing bowls today between dinner and some blondies I made earlier. ) though, which is fine. It just means they’re something that should definitely be reserved for game day (which means dugeons and dragons around here lol) and similar special occasions. Preferrably occasions where you can wrangle up some extra hands to help (by doing dishes). 😉
SO incredibly happy you loved it!! THANKS!!
I cant wait to try these and sneak one by my fiance lol he dont like tea or coffee either! they look so good.
LOL! Thanks so much, Amanda!
I’d love to add some cheese to this, what would you recommend?
Also, what do you think about possibly using a bit of the sweet tea to caramelize the onions instead of frying them? That way it’d be a bit healthier.
I think the sweet tea in the onions would be amazing! I would go for a good cheddar or smoked gouda. Hope you love this!
Someone from Southamerica here! I just would like to know if the sweet tea could be made by hand with only with black tea and sugar (Is there a kind that is sold there that I can find here?). Would that work? Thank you so much for your amazing recipes. I’m trying as many as I can. Ka
Hey Karla,
Yes, that would work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
entire family loved it!!
Hey Nick,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan