5 Ingredients You Can Use To Make Chicken Breading Stick

Breaded chicken is a versatile food that can be used in a variety of different meals. Starting with the crispiest chicken cutlet recipe will allow you to add your breaded chicken patty to a sandwich, serve it with a side of vegetables, chop it into a hearty salad, and so much more. Of course, the one question is how to make the breading for your chicken properly stick. With so many different potential binders, it's really a matter of personal preference and thoughtful choices to get the right cohesive flavor profile. Eggs are among the most common binding agents and with good reason. The consistency, mild taste, ease of use, and ready accessibility definitely make eggs a top-tier binder for breaded chicken. There are, however, plenty of other unique ingredients to make your chicken breading stick and create a dish filled with great tastes.

Whether you want to keep things simple with mayonnaise or turn up the volume with hoisin sauce, the choice is yours. When making breaded chicken, it's important to consider how you intend to serve it to inform your choice of ingredients for a binding agent as well as for your side dishes or other pairings. From basic to blown-out, there are plenty of options to make an unforgettable breaded chicken meal.

Among the many different binding agents available, mayonnaise is excellent because it combines two already common binder ingredients –- eggs and oil -– into one smooth mixture. It's great to add a slather of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise or whatever your favorite brand may be to your chicken before coating it with bread crumbs. Starting off with a plain mayo is pretty easy. However, based on the dish for which your breaded chicken is destined, you can also elevate the flavor of your mayo by adding leftover herbs, mixing in different spices and seasonings, or even replacing the mayonnaise altogether with aioli.

If you're using a flavored mayonnaise, an aioli, or even a remoulade to stick breading to your chicken, thinking about all the ingredients involved will help to make a well-rounded dish. For example, if you're breading a chicken patty for a Cajun or Creole-inspired sandwich, use remoulade sauce to coat your chicken before coating it in a mixture of breadcrumbs and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning for the ultimate burst of flavor. You can use this for chicken tenders as well, keeping some extra sauce on the side for dipping.

On the lighter side, olive oil is a great choice of binder when you don't want an extra thick sauce to hinder the taste and texture of your breaded chicken. It's also an ideal ingredient for Italian-inspired dishes to add complementary flavors to your dish. You can also use a flavored or infused olive oil for subtle enhancements. For example, if you infuse your olive oil with cheese rinds and then use this as a binder to adhere bread crumbs to a piece of chicken, it would make for one seriously bold and savory chicken parmesan.

If you're looking for something especially quick and simple, using a spray of olive oil is also a time-saver. It really just depends on your desired level of both creativity and convenience. For a particularly fancy-tasting recipe, try black truffle-infused olive oil to get your breading stuck on a piece of chicken. For a more tart contrast, infusing olive oil with lemons will add a kick of citrus tang for a delightful coating to pair with your breaded chicken.

There are plenty of reasons why you should prep chicken with mustard, especially if you're planning to bread said chicken for cooking, baking, or frying. No matter which type or brand of mustard you intend to use, there's one that will fit your breaded chicken dish perfectly. A classic yellow mustard used as a binder will give your chicken a bold and bright punch of flavor whereas a Dijon mustard such as Grey Poupon will give a more subtle hint of extra taste.

If you want to use pieces of breaded and fried chicken in a salad with a honey mustard dressing, starting with honey mustard as your breading binder will pair nicely for a cohesive flavor throughout your dish. You can even make your own honey mustard dressing to use as a binding agent and a salad topping. When cooking fried chicken with mustard, a slather of classic yellow mustard is an absolute must prior to tossing the meat in your bread-coating ingredients.

Using hoisin sauce might seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but it's a great way to tie all the flavors of your breaded chicken together, particularly if you're making a dish inspired by Asian cuisine. Similar to what you would do with a Chinese takeout-style chicken wings recipe, you can coat pieces of chicken with hoisin sauce and cover them with panko-style coating before baking or frying. This would be particularly tasty when paired with a walnut broccoli stir-fry recipe.

There are many ways to incorporate hoisin sauce that will add just the right amount of sweet and tangy flavor. In fact, if you want to mix up one common binding agent with a slightly less common one, try combining mayo and hoisin sauce for your chicken before adding the breaded ingredients. It works well as a sandwich spread and will make just as good of a binder. Don't be afraid to experiment with new flavors and textures, knowing that you can easily balance out the ratios of mayo to hoisin by adding a little more or less to the mix.

An absolute necessity for a classic buttermilk fried chicken recipe, this common binding agent has many different uses whether acting as an ingredient for making breading stick to chicken or otherwise. The tart and tangy flavor for which buttermilk is best known means that it will definitely add a distinct level of both taste and texture to whatever chicken dish you're breading. Knowing this, you can pair your buttermilk breaded chicken with side dishes that have either complementary or pleasantly contrasting flavors.

There is no shortage of options when it comes to fried chicken sides, among which are a bevy of wholesome vegetable dishes as well as decadent starch and carb-heavy offerings. If you're using buttermilk as a binding agent for your fried chicken, it certainly wouldn't be out of the question to prepare a humble stack of buttermilk Belgian waffles as a go-with. 

However you enjoy your breaded chicken, remember that sharing is caring and the best recipes are ones that you have fun making.