Planet Hollywoods Captain Crunch Chicken

This is the Planet Hollywood copycat that became famous in the 90s for a reason. Crushed Captain Crunch and corn flakes make a coating that fries up into a shatter-crisp shell with a faint cereal-milk sweetness, balancing the savory garlic-onion-pepper seasoned flour underneath.

The sweet cereal is the whole gimmick, and it works because Captain Crunch has corn-syrup hardness that holds up in hot oil where breadcrumbs would burn. The corn flakes add a craggy texture and stop the coating from going one-note sugary. Without them you get candy chicken.

Grind the cereals coarsely, not to powder. You want recognizable bits with edges so the coating reads as crunch rather than crumb. A few pulses in the food processor or a zip-top bag and rolling pin both work.

The three-step breading (seasoned flour, egg wash, cereal) is non-skippable. The flour gives the egg something to grip, the egg glues the cereal to the chicken, and the cereal is what people will remember.

Pro Tips

• Keep oil right at 325°F (165°C). Too hot and the sugary cereal burns black; too cool and you get greasy, pale tenders.
• Use one hand for wet steps (egg wash) and one for dry (flour, cereal). Saves you from breading your own fingers.
• Let coated tenders rest 5 minutes on a rack before frying so the coating adheres firmly.
• Drain on a rack, not paper towels. Paper towels steam the bottom and ruin the crunch.

Variations

• Bake at 425°F (220°C) on a wire rack for 15 minutes for an oven version with less oil.
• Swap corn flakes for crushed pretzels for a saltier, more aggressive crunch.
• Serve with a honey mustard or sriracha-honey dip if you don’t want to make Creole mustard sauce.