These Chicken Bites with Tarragon Dipping Sauce are a great little dish to make when company comes over and you don’t want to slave over a hot stove at the last minutes.

I make the tarragon dipping sauce the day before and keep it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to serve the dish. This saves some time and keeps you out of the kitchen and with your guests come party time.

The bites will please adults and children and I often double the recipe as they’re a huge hit at parties. You could make the bites a little ahead of time and fry just 8 minutes then reheat in the oven, or my favorite, the toaster oven, for 2-3 minutes right before you want to serve the bites.

Bites Ingredients:

• 2 cups peanut oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, patted dry and cut in 1½ inch bites.
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp. poultry seasonings
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. dry thyme
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ tsp. each salt and pepper (plus additional salt for seasoning the cooked chicken)

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp. dry tarragon or 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
• 4 drops of hot sauce
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Bites Directions:

1. In a heavy saucepan or ideally a deep cast iron pan, warm the oil over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, poultry seasonings, garlic power, thyme and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
3. In another medium bowl, add the buttermilk.
4. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk, shake to remove excess and toss in the bread crumb mixture to fully coat each piece. Add the coated chicken to the oil and cook in batches for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. You don’t want to crowd the pan with too much chicken or the oil will drop in temperature and your chicken will get soggy from oil penetrating the chicken instead of cooking the exterior. Place cooked chicken on paper towels and season with a pinch of salt.

Dipping Sauce Directions:

While the bites cook, in a medium bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk well to fully combine. Serve with the bites.

Serves 6-8 as appetizers/hors d’oeuvres.