Tuesday night about 4 PM, I wanted to test my growing knowledge and ability to use keto ingredients without consulting a recipe or keto cookbook.   I have accumulated lots of new ingredients.  I want to be able to open the cupboard and make something spontaneously keto friendly without a lot of planning and ingredient shuffling and scavenging.....just like my lifetime habit of cooking and meal preparation.  Intuitive.

Feeling adventurous, I had some chicken breast on hand and thawed, ready to go.  Here is the recipe I concocted:

In 3 separate vessels:

Bowl 1) 1/2 cup oat fiber mixed with 2 tbls powdered collagen

Bowl 2) 1 egg beaten well with 1 Tbls water

Flat Plate 3) 1 1/2 cup crushed pork rinds mixed with 2 tsp Mrs Dash seasoning, 1/4 salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper. "Breading"

Instructions:

1) Place a paper towel layer over a small baking sheet with a rack over the paper towel. Set near the fryer. This is for the cooked chicken.

2) Cut 12 ounces chicken breast into 1" strips against the grain.  Pat moisture dry.  Place the strips one at a time into the Oat Fiber bowl.  Then into the egg bowl to coat all around with egg mixture.  Then into the Breading Plate and coat with the crumbs.  Set on a plate to rest while the oil heats up.

3) Heat 1 quart peanut oil (or high heat oil of your choice) in a deep sided pan on medium heat to 350-360*.   Place 2-3 chicken strips in the hot oil.  Cook 3-4 minutes (temp 160).  Remove from oil and place on rack over paper toweling on a tray.   Continue until all pieces are cooked.  Enjoy.

Take 2: For dinner the second night, I wanted to see if a buttermilk soak/marinade made any difference in tenderness of the chicken.  I poured 2 cups buttermilk over more chicken and let it sit in the fridge until the next night dinner.  Then I prepared the ingredients as before.  When I was breading and still had a few pieces of chicken left, I ran out of egg.  Instead of beating another one, I mixed the remaining Oat fiber mix into the crumbs.  I placed the chicken directly from the buttermilk (hung a moment to drip off excess buttermilk) into the crumbs and coated each strip.  The fried them as the others.  The coating came out lighter in texture when fried. In both cases, the breading stayed attached to the chicken. 

Overall, the flavor of the chicken strips was terrific both nights.  The seasoning was good and the pork rind coating was outstanding.  My husband did not know that I did not use breadcrumbs and he loved the flavor and tenderness (better the second night he said, I agreed).  The buttermilk did make a difference.

I have attached a few photos for reference. The tray with the six pieces are a mix of the regular process and the lighter breading where I mixed the oat fiber in with the crumbs.  You can see the difference between them.