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!
In the mood for something spicier or bone-in chicken, try my Popeyes Fried Chicken 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!
valmg @ From Val's Kitchen says
I've never had Long John's Chicken Planks but can say that these look delicious! I'd eat them right now!
Fanny says
Yum. I love Long John Silvers and this was fantastic
Krista says
I've never been to a Long John Silver's but boy do these Chicken Planks look super delicious!
Ashley M says
Yum! These are great, I'm a big fan of copy cat recipes. Especially to places I can't go often.
Holly says
What would you serve with these?
Robin Gagnon says
Whatever your preferred dipping sauce or gravy.
Amy says
Holy Moly these were awesome! My husband was in Long John Silver heaven! I set deep fryer at 375 and cooked fo 6 minutes.
No need to ever drive 1/2 hour to LJS! Yay!
Kathy says
We live in Utah and there are no Long John Silvers anywhere! I love their planks and have been dying to find a recipe to make them myself. ( Since I hate to cook, that is saying a lot about how much I love them to be willing to cook. Lol). Thank you for this recipe. I will be trying it really soon!
Dave says
Tried this recipe but needed to be a little sweeter has anyone tried adding a lemon lime soda instead of water?
TASHA says
i added old bay seasoning after they were done frying.. This added some flavor!! 😉
Marysa says
These are awesome! My husband loves, I'll definitely have to save this recipe!
Merita brown says
on the long john silver recipe is that self rising flour or plain
Robin Gagnon says
Regular flour.
Chick McNug says
SOOOOOO close! I added a few steps that get it just a little closer:
1. The real ones use MSG, I'd put money on it. If you prefer leaving it off, you can, but I promise you you'll find these closer to the original by adding 1/4-1/2 tsp MSG. I tend to go with 1/2, but that might be too much for some.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the tenders on both sides before step 3 below.
3. Roll the tenders in corn starch before battering. This will help the batter stick, and makes them crisp up even more.
A few hints that help:
-Because the batter is fresh and not frozen, the best way to fry is with oil in an electric skillet. Wet batter sticks to deep fryer baskets and makes getting the chicken out (and cleanup) a nightmare. The nonstick coating on electric skillets won't mess with your batter coating.
-Make sure you have malt vinegar on hand for dipping, since this is what LJS puts on the tables in their locations.
Thanks so much for this recipe, it's awesome and very easy.
Robin Gagnon says
Thank you so much for the helpful tips. I bet you are right about the msg in the Long John Silver's batter (or maybe a similar yeast derivative... since many places are leery of adding that, since it's gotten a bad wrap).
Doug says
Thanks for the tips! Used them last night and they came out very good!
Nickie says
Awesome I found if you hold the fat end in the oil for a few seconds the skinny end doesn't stick to the fry basket. I didnt think my kids would like them but they ate them all I had to make more for my husband and I
Tom says
Do you have to precook the chicken
Robin Gagnon says
No the chicken is battered raw.
Colton says
I use tartar sauce
Brenda says
In the original batter, back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, was almost addicting. I always believed that they put some of their malt vinegar in the batter. They’ve changed the batter recipe many times since then. The drummers were the best!!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love me some good fried chicken!
Nellie Tracy says
Love this recipe!
Brian turnbull says
Works just as well with shrimp. Probably fish to but nvr been a fish fan.
Dara Michalski says
You can't beat the crispiness of a really good batter and this one definitely didn't disappoint! A hit with the family.
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.
Chad says
Thank you. I too was wondering about air fryer but your reasoning make sense. I appreciate it.