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I tried TikTok's viral Doritos fried chicken hack and it reminded me of fair food in the worst way

I tried TikTok's viral Doritos fried chicken hack and it reminded me of fair food in the worst way

Pauline Villegas

This Doritos chicken TikTok recipe won't be a repeat for me, but I liked the creativity of the meal.Pauline Villegas/Insider

The viral Doritos fried chicken recipe from TikTok was challenging for a novice chef like myself.
Tiktoker @syllygirl shared the recipe in July and since it's garnered over 18 million views.

When I think of Doritos, I think of a summer barbeque. My family and I love the chips as a side to the classic all-American burger and hot dog.

@syllygirl
I can’t belive this worked
♬ original sound - Sylvia Ferreira

Fortunately, I already had a majority of the necessary ingredients at home.

The ingredients were simple, and most of the things I needed I already had in my pantry. Pauline Villegas/Insider

All I had to do was grab chicken breasts, milk, and Doritos from the supermarket, which cost about $20. The recipe calls for the following:

1 bag of Doritos
2 eggs
2 tbsps of milk
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of onion powder
1 rolling pin (or spoon) to hit the Doritos bag

I began by adding two eggs and "a little bit of milk" to the Doritos bag per the recipe's instructions.

There was little to no guidance on measurements in the TikTok video, so I used an estimate. Pauline Villegas/Insider

I measured out two tablespoons of milk to pour into the bag and began to doubt if I was doing it right.

After adding the eggs and milk to the bag, I folded the end closed and used a large wooden spoon to mash the ingredients together.

The smell and look of Doritos mixed with eggs and milk was not appetizing, to say the least. Pauline Villegas/Insider

For this step, I attempted to make the Doritos breadcrumb mixture that would later coat the chicken before frying. This process took a lot longer than expected, and the chips were still too large to coat the chicken.

After almost five minutes of hitting the bag and shaking the ingredients together, the pieces were still too large and became soggy.

For a breaded chicken recipe, these pieces seemed much too large to work with, so I transferred the chips into a plastic bag and continued breaking them up. Pauline Villegas/Insider

Since the original instructions weren't working well for me, I transferred the contents into a clear plastic bag, which helped decrease the size and consistency. Though shaking the Doritos bag was fun, I don't recommend it for the recipe.

After my Doritos "breadcrumbs" were done, I put those aside and started seasoning the chicken.

Seasoning the chicken was the most straightforward part and made me crave a normal shake and bake. Pauline Villegas/Insider

I used pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder like the TikTok video recommended.

After seasoning the chicken, I dipped each piece into flour and set it aside.

It was jarring not using an egg wash to dip the chicken breast into, but the recipe didn't mention it. Pauline Villegas/Insider

I was worried that the chicken breast would turn out dry after dipping it straight into the flour. I think the recipe would've turned out better if the chicken was dipped in the egg and milk mixture prior to coating it with flour.

After multiple attempts of dipping the chicken into the Doritos bag, I was finally able to get the crumbs to stick to the chicken when I dipped it in the plastic bag of Doritos crumbs.

The Doritos breadcrumbs were still on the larger side at this stage. Pauline Villegas/Insider

The pieces of chicken kept getting lost in the Doritos bag, and the crumbs in the bag were too large to stick to the battered chicken. Once I used the plastic bag, I was able to follow the recipe.

Next, I added vegetable oil to a pan with medium heat.

Once the chicken started frying, my whole house immediately smelled like the county fair. Pauline Villegas/Insider

After the oil was hot, I added the strips to the pan to fry. It took about 4 minutes on each side before the chicken was golden brown.

The final product was disappointing, to say the least.

As the chicken fried, some of the Doritos breadcrumbs came off. Pauline Villegas/Insider

After I fried the chicken, the breadcrumbs immediately fell off. If the recipe stuck to its Shake and Bake roots, it would've been easier to replicate, in my opinion. And despite my best efforts, it tasted like fair food gone horribly wrong.

The Doritos flavor wasn't as strong as I expected it to be, and I wish the breading stuck to the chicken better. Overall, I think the recipe could taste better with some tweaks (like using a plastic bag over the Doritos bag).