Combine the breadcrumbs and salt into a shallow container for breading the chicken strips. If you want to add extra seasonings to the breading mix them in with the salt.
Wet Batter
In a second shallow bowl or container, whisk the egg, water, and hot sauce until well combined.
Add in about ¼ cup (34 grams) of the flour and fold it into the egg mixture with a fork. You don't want to whisk it, just gently fold it in. When you can no longer see any flour (you may see some lumps and that is fine), add in another ¼ cup (34 grams) of flour and repeat until the wet batter is the consistency of a pancake batter. You may have some leftover flour.
Preparing Chicken
If you are using chicken tenders, skip this step since they are already prepared.
Trim any connective tissue or fat from the chicken breast and flip it over so the underside is showing. There is a strip of meat on the underside that resembles a tenderloin (it's not though) and I like to cut that off as one of the chicken strips.
Flip the chicken breast back over and slice into strips. You can make them any size you like, but I usually get 3-4 more strips (4-5 total) out of 1 large chicken breast. You can also cut the strips in half lengthwise if you want shorter chicken strips.
Preheat the Air Fryer
You want to preheat the air fryer on the hottest setting for a full 10 minutes. On the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper, this is the broil/grill setting which is 450℉/230℃. Make sure the air fryer basket or crisping plate is inside the appliance during the preheat time.
If you are using a different air fryer, use the hottest setting on your appliance and let it run for 10 minutes.
Breading the Chicken Strips
Dip a chicken strip into the wet batter and make sure it is full covered. Allow the excess to drip off and place the strip into the dry breading. Cover it with the bread crumbs and let it sit about 30 seconds while you coat another strip in the wet batter.
Remove the strip coated with breadcrumbs and set on a plate or a cooling rack while you bread the remaining chicken strips.
Air Frying Chicken Tenders or Chicken Strips
Spritz the air fryer basket or plate with oil and place the chicken strips in a single layer into the air fryer on the basket or plate. Spritz the tops with oil.
Select the air crisp or air fry function and set the temperature to 375°F/190°C and air crisp for 5-6 minutes.
Gently flip the chicken strips with a spatula or turner and continue air frying for another 5-6 minutes or until they are golden brown and the internal temperature is at least 165°F/ 74°C. Don't worry if they are reading higher than that, the chicken won't dry out because it's breaded. Mine are often in the 180's°F/80's°C and they are fine. The important thing is the breading is nice and crispy.
Remove the strips and place on a cooling rack for 3-5 minutes. Repeat for any remaining chicken tenders or strips.
You will not use all of the wet batter and the nutritional values have been altered to reflect that. Usually I have about ½ of the wet batter left over. You can certainly double the chicken and bread crumbs and use up the remaining wet batter for a double batch.
Freezing Chicken Strips
Place your breaded (uncooked) chicken strips in a single layer on a tray that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with oil. Spritz the tops of the chicken strips. Freeze for several hours or overnight. Place the frozen strips into a freezer bag or container and pull out as needed. *The oil helps prevent ice crystals and you do not need to oil again when cooking.
Cooking Chicken Strips from Frozen
Preheat the air fryer on the hottest setting for a full 10 minutes. Lay the frozen chicken tenders or chicken strips into the air fryer basket or on the crisping plate. Air Fry on 375℉/190℃ for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 165℉/74℃