Ingredients

  • Flour tortillas

Chicken Tender Marinade

  • 2-3 lbs. chicken breast, cut into strips 
  • 1 cup pickle juice 
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, optional

Chicken Coating

  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1.5 cups buttermilk
  • Grass Fed beef tallow, or fat of choice, for frying chicken and for pan-frying shells

Street Corn Salad

  • 5-6 ears of corn husked and grilled in a skillet/grill, can used canned corn if you would like
  • 1/3 cup mayo
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 lime, juiced and zested
  • 1/3 cup sliced scallions
  • 1/3 cup grated cojita cheese
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 1/2-1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Cilantro Lime Ranch

  • 3/4 cup mayo
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon dry ranch seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup cilantro large stems removed
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk, milk could be used as substitute

Instructions

 

The Street Corn & Cilantro Lime Ranch can be prepared before hand. 

 

Street Corn Salad

  • Grill up the corn and carefully slice it off the cob. Combine all street corn ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use. You can make this a day ahead for maximum flavor and ease.

Jalapeno Lime Ranch 

  • In a food processor (or blender, or emulsion blender works too), combine cilantro leaves, the mayo, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, salt, lime juice, sour cream and buttermilk. Puree to combine. Store in a mason jar or a bowl tightly sealed. Refrigerate up to five days. Best served chilled so they flavors have time to meld together.

 

Frying Chicken

  • Add pickle juice and buttermilk into a medium bowl. Submerge chicken then cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, best if you can let it sit overnight to really get the pickle flavor 
  • Once ready to fry the chicken, put the flour mixture in a medium-sized bowl: flour, cornstarch and seasonings. In a separate medium bowl, add buttermilk Add a few tablespoons of the buttermilk into the flour and stir to create crumbs that will stick to the chicken.
  • Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or deep fryer. Taking the chicken pieces one at a time, pat them dry from marinade. Place in the flour mixture, then dunk into the buttermilk/hot sauce. Then back into the flour mixture, make sure the chicken is well coated. Shake off any excess. 
  • Set the chicken aside and let it sit for a few minutes until the coating starts to look a little pasty. 
  • Carefully add chicken strips to the fry oil a few at a time. Don't add more than three or four pieces at a time. Fry until golden brown or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees, turning every few minutes.

Assemble

  • Add a few tablespoons of neutral oil to a skillet over medium low heat. Add tortillas 1-2 at a time and cook on each side for 1-2 minutes or until they are golden brown but still pliable. Place pan-fried shells on a few layers of paper towels to absorb excess oil.
  • Assemble the taco by adding one chicken tender, a scoop of the elote salad, and a drizzle of the sauce. Serve with lime wedges.