Do you love Long John Silver's Chicken Planks like I do? Well, today I have a great copycat recipe to share with you. The trick is in mimicking the iconic Long John Silver batter.
This is the perfect solution, if the nearest Long John Silvers is at least an hour drive away. You can still have some Long John Silvers chicken tenders!
Long John Silver's Chicken Batter
Of course, the most important part of a successful copycat of Long John Silver's chicken planks is in a nice crispy flavorful batter recipe. This chicken batter has great "puff" to it, and the reports I'm getting are positive on crispness and flavor.
Why not make a big batch of these copycat chicken planks this weekend to enjoy with your family. I'm sure it will make them very happy.
Serving the Battered Chicken
These chicken planks are great with fries or a nice pasta salad. I like to dunk them in all kinds of sauces... Fry Sauce, Honey Mustard, Ranch Dressing or even homemade Yum Yum sauce. You can even mix restaurants and dunk them in some of my Chick-fil-a sauce recipe!
Copycat Long John Silvers Chicken Planks Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Tenderloins
Long John Silver Batter
- ¾ cup Flour
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¾ cup Water
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Add water and stir until well combined.
- Heat oil to between 360 and 375.
- Dip fish or chicken in batter to coat completely.
- Deep fry for until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side).
Be sure and check out the comments below, many readers have shared some great tips!
Justine says
Love this! Especially since there's no Long John Silvers near me.
Christy says
Yes, yes, yes, yes! NAILED IT!
Seriously, y'all. This is the real deal, "crispies" and everything!
The secret is to get that grease hot!
I'm using gas and I've got it at an 8 1/2 , Pre-heating the oil for 12 minutes. Man, it's so good I made it two days in a row! Don't forget to pick up Malt Vinegar!
Robert says
You "heat" the oil.. not "pre-heat." "Pre" means "before," so "pre-heating" means "heat before you heat." There are only two stages oil can be in... same as an oven... heated, or not heated. So saying "heat pre-cooking" is fine, but not "pre-heat."
Robin Gagnon says
Her terminology may be off, but the point to let your oil remain at temperature for a couple minutes before you start frying is a good one.
Erin says
Geeeez sir...
Edward Reither says
There's one in every crowd
Erin H says
Another Erin says geez… ☹️ Pretty sure people can ascertain what she was saying. If not I’m sure they’d figure it out soon enough.
Ccwaz says
Robert is a Karen. You must be fun at parties.
Lora says
Thank you so much for the grammar lesson on a recipe site. Seriously WOW🤨
Jillian says
Where do mansplainers usually get their water?
Well, actually.
Jeanna says
😂😂😂🤣 Jillian: that was excellent! 👏🏻 Robert: stow it! No one cares! As for the recipe: I love it, my kids love it, and it’s book marked on my phone!
Erin H says
Touché!!! Love it! Didn’t like snorting my coffee thru my nose tho!
S.M.J says
Oh my god so glad you figured it out. I was so confused and had no idea how to follow the recipe ,without your comment I would never of been able to read the recipe properly.
ROBERT KUHN says
I also am a George Carlin fan
Alan Crowder says
You must be the life of the party. You knew what they meant when they said preheat. Give me a break.
Josh says
Pre-Heat means to heat to the desired temperature before you start cooking. If you don't know the definition of pre-heat then perhaps you should stay away from cooking all together.
Christina says
Robert, I know a George Carlin fan when I see one. Absolutely love it 😂😂 but yes recipe is great
Andrew says
Can you come fix my hot water heater?
Joseph Rabor says
Robert, you may want to learn more about thermodynamics...
Eric says
Pre-heat is correct. It literally means to heat something( oven, grill, or grease before cooking) before trying to sound smart by bashing others, check the dictionary.
Duane says
Preheating an oven BEFORE you put the food in to be cooked, is what is meant.
Preheating the oil means to heat the oil before you put the food in! Some folks are just learning how to cook. Though it may be Obvious to you and I, it may not be for some.
Now, to pre-drill a hole in a piece of wood
Still needs to be explained to me LOL!
Krissy says
I marinated my chicken in a Tbsp of vinegar & sprinkled on salt & pepper for 15 minutes before breading & frying.
Amy says
Just curious as to why? What did it do for the chicken??
Stanton says
If I’m doing this in a frying pan, which oil should I use? And how much?
Should the whole tender be submerged?
Robin Gagnon says
This would be considered a deep frying recipe. The whole tender should be submerged.
Jessica Skoniecki says
Could u do this in an air fryer
Robin Gagnon says
No, this recipe would not be recommended in an air fryer. If you crumb coat the chicken instead, that works well... but batter would not.
Kerri says
Also use the batter for onion rings!!!!
Robin Gagnon says
Awesome idea!
Doug says
Thanks for the idea! Doing onion rings with the leftover batter tonight.
Robert C says
WOW - That was AMAZING!!! I have been craving LJS for a long time and no locations close enough to where I live. The recipe was great and easy to put together....flavor on point! I added a dash of Paprika, and dash of seasoned salt along with regular salt, and in place of water I used club soda. The chicken planks came out fluffy, light, and crispy in a golden brown color. Thanks for the tip on the 3 minutes frying each side.....perfect amount of time. Trick as mentioned earlier is to to make sure oil is HOT before lightly placing chicken planks in the oil. THANKS
ROB HALE says
If you want it to taste exactly like LJS, you MUST use Peanut oil. That's what they cook it in!
DC says
This is a pretty good recipe for chicken coating. It does come out crispy and similar in texture to Long John Silver's. But does it taste exactly like it? No, not really. It doesn't have as much flavor as LJS. It's definitely missing something, I just don't know what.
Andrea Riley says
Lemon and salt!
Ann says
I bet malt vinegar is IN the batter.
Juli says
Amazing and easy, as II hate cooking and I made something my whole family would eat !!!!! Had extra batter and made onion rings too.
Margaret says
So if one were to add the malt vinegar- how much, please?
Thanks!
Paddy says
Gonna try this... Rain ALL weekend... Miss those chicken planks and fry's dipped in ranch and malt vinegar! Thanks a TON!
Charlotte says
It's nearly perfect!!! Make sure your oil is definitely at 375. Use a large Dutch oven to fry or a true fryer. If you add a tbsp of white vinegar to the batter, it IS LSJ!!!
Bonnie Dietrich says
What to do if you do not have cornstarch what can you use to replace cornstarch
Robin Gagnon says
Tapioca starch is used in Japanese tempura, that would probably work. I really don't have a suggestion past that.
Keisha says
Is this with frozen chicken tenders or thawed?
Robin Gagnon says
raw fresh or thawed