Southern Fried Crispy Breadcrumb

Chicken coated in a Southern Fried Crispy Breadcrumb, stuffed in a wrap with the most delicious fillings imaginable!

holding up crispy chicken wraps, focus on front one
EXTRA Crispy Chicken Wraps

Breaded Chicken – The chicken is breaded in Panko breadcrumbs for extra crispiness.
Crispy Fried Onions – Onion slices coated in flour and shallow fried.
Lettuce – Fresh crispy Romaine lettuce.
Bacon – Of course 🤪
Now, admittedly these wraps do take a little more time to make than your average. A teeny bit more prep, BUT it’s all really simple stuff and 100% worth it.

How to make Crispy Chicken Wraps (quick summary)
Add paprika, oregano, onion & garlic powder, s&p to a small pot.
Combine.
3 bowls: flour, egg, breadcrumbs. Split the spices among flour and breadcrumbs.
Coat chicken breast in flour then egg then breadcrumbs.
Shallow fry in veg oil.
Flip.
Place cheese over top to rest and melt.
Ensure you don’t use olive oil to shallow fry. It’s got a low smoking point, as opposed to something like peanut, vegetable or sunflower oil.
Cheese – Firstly, I usually go for Monterey Jack, but cheddar or most other cheeses work great. I also rest it on the chicken once it’s fried just to melt it slightly. If you want it extra melty just add it after you’ve flipped the chicken in the pan. Alternatively you could just add the cheese in the wrap without melting it.
Crispy Fried Onions
These were actually a beautiful mistake as I was developing the recipe. I was always putting in onion, but figured half way I’ve got leftover flour and leftover oil. So it of course made absolute sense to coat the buggers and shallow fry them.

If you don’t want to fry the onions you don’t have to. In such case I recommend using red onion and just slicing into thin strips.

Breaded Chicken Wraps
Okay, so you’ve got your crispy breaded chicken, you’ve got your crispy fried onions, let’s talk sauce.

My pick for this recipe is always sweet chilli mayo. It not only adds a nice creaminess to balance out the crispiness of everything, but, the touch of sweetness balances out the spices in the chicken nicely. You could however use any sauce you fancy 🙂

Can I make these ahead of time?
I actually don’t recommend this. I have made these, stored leftovers in the fridge and taken out the next day; they’re just simply not the same. All that glorious ‘crispiness’ you worked for disappears. Fresh is best in this case!

How to make crispy chicken wraps – ingredient shots
What to serve with Crispy Chicken Wraps
Honestly? And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but these are pretty big and filling by themselves. HOWEVER, if you were extra peckish, here’s some ideas to go alongside:

Baked Avocado Fries
Crispy Baked Fries
Sweet Potato Fries
Baked Potato Wedges

CRISPY CHICKEN WRAPS
Chicken coated in a Southern Fried Crispy Breadcrumb, stuffed in a wrap with the most delicious fillings imaginable. Warning – these are very big & filling!

Ingredients (check list):
Crispy Chicken
▢2 Chicken Breasts (brought to room temp)
▢1 cup / 250ml Vegetable Oil (see notes)
▢3/4 cup / 45g Panko Breadcrumbs (see notes)
▢1/2 cup / 65g Flour
▢1 Egg, beaten
▢2 tbsp Milk

▢2 tsp Paprika
▢1 tsp each: Oregano, Salt
▢1/2 tsp each: Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper (or to spice preference)
▢1/4 tsp each: Onion Powder, Black Pepper
Wraps
▢4 large Flour Tortilla Wraps
▢8 single rashers of Streaky Bacon, cooked to crispiness preference
▢4 slices of Cheese (see notes)
▢5 small Tomatoes, sliced
▢4 tbsp Sweet Chilli Mayo
▢1 large Onion, sliced into strips
▢1 small Romaine Lettuce
Instructions:
Crispy Chicken
Line up 3 bowls: First with 1/2cup/65g flour, the second with 1 beaten egg and 2 tbsp milk, the final with 3/4cup/45g Panko breadcrumbs.
In a small bowl, combine 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt and oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and cayenne pepper (or to taste) and 1/4 tsp onion powder and black pepper. Pour half in the flour and the other half in the breadcrumbs. Stir with a fork to combine.
Butterfly 2 chicken breasts right through to make 4 even sized breasts. One by one coat in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, ensuring you fully coat at each stage (especially the last).
Heat up 1 cup of vegetable oil in a 12″ skillet until a breadcrumb rapidly sizzles (medium heat for minimum of 5mins). Use tongs to carefully place the breasts in the oil. Fry for 4-5mins each side or until golden brown, crispy and cooked through the centre. Place to one side and place over cheese slices to melt slightly. Slice into strips when ready.
Wraps & Fried Onions
Toss your onions slices in the leftovers flour, shake off excess, then place in the hot oil leftover from the chicken. Fry until golden and crispy, tossing occasionally.
Stack in the centre of your tortilla wrap: 1 tbsp sweet chilli mayo, 1 romaine lettuce leaf, 4 slices of tomato, 2 rashers of bacon, crispy chicken, crispy onions.
Fold up the bottom, then tightly roll into a wrap. If they seem slightly loose just wrap foil round the bottom to keep it all intact.

Notes:
a) Onion – You don’t have to fry these if you don’t want to. In which case I’d recommend using thinly sliced red onion.
b) Oil – Use an oil with a high smoking point like sunflower, peanut or vegetable oil. Don’t use olive oil, it’ll smoke out the kitchen.
c) Cheese – I use Monterey Jack, but most cheeses work well. I rest it on the chicken once it’s fried just to melt it slightly. For extra melty cheese place it on once you flip the chicken in the pan. Alternatively you can just add the cheese in at the end if you want the crispy chicken by itself.
d) Breadcrumbs – Panko breadcrumbs are great because they’re so large (so turn extra crispy). You’ll find them in most supermarkets in the Asian section.