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    Home » Recipes » Appetizers & Snacks

    "Gator Bait" Chicken Bites with Swamp Sauce

    Updated Feb 28, 2022

    2621 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Attention Tailgators: This recipe is for your next Florida tailgate party! Gator Bait Chicken Bites. No, we didn't actually cook up alligator. That just seems...wrong. Yes, I know, many people love it, but I just couldn't. So...we went for the next best thing. Chicken. Haven't you heard? It tastes like alligator.

    Oh, and what's in the Swamp Sauce? A little bit of everything, in true Florida style. (The recipe is at the end of the post.)

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    SEC Tailgate Special : The University of Florida

    Football at the Swamp, baby! If you are a Florida fan, you love it. If you are anyone else in the SEC, you FEAR the swamp. (Or is that just the rest of the SEC East?)

    This year, we created a tailgate recipe for every team in the South Eastern Conference.

    Our goal: to capture the spirit of each school’s team and make a fun and delicious recipe using local flavor and flair. So we put our football differences aside, and researched every school.

    If you have ever been to an SEC Tailgate, you know that food is the only thing that brings opposing fans together. (Besides the fact that we all want to beat Florida.)  (Whoops!!  Sorry Gator Nation. Vol fan here...we've been giving you a hard time on the other tailgate recipe pages, but love ya, mean it! )

    If you don’t follow college football or aren’t a fan of the SEC…that’s totally ok. The SEC Tailgate recipes are still awesome for your next party. Or a Tuesday. (We won’t judge.)

    Gator Bait Chicken Bites with Swamp Sauce | Florida Tailgate

    In another SEC Tailgate Special recipe or two, I refer to M.I.L.E. (Mascots I'd Like to Eat). Um...Gators aren't in that category for me. It would be like eating sweet Al.

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    I went with crazy Florida chickens. These aren't normal chicken nuggets, ok? Just put that thought out of your heads right now.

    These are full of flavor, tender and moist, and country fried with a perfect amount of spice! We let the Gator Bait Chicken Bites soak in a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce (yay) for hours before we cooked them. For tailgating parties, I would definitely throw them in the pool the night before, and fry them up the morning of the game.

    Gator Bait Chicken Bites

    The point of soaking them? You get so much flavor, and it helps tenderize the chicken and keep it moist. (You can also use this method when you fry chicken legs and thighs.)  Why the hot sauce? Why the hell not?

    Drain the chicken bites, then dredge in a milk and egg mixture, then a spicy flour mix. (You can totally control the heat level here...keep in mind who you are feeding. If there are kids or the mild at heart, tone it down. If you are feeding wild Gators, then by all means, put all the hot stuff in!)

    Tailgating 101 | Tasty Recipes for Football Fun

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    Ever hear stories of people getting lost in the swamp? Well...apparently so did our photos of the actual cooking process. Just use your imagination. Picture these beautiful little Gator Bait chicken bites sizzling and browning to perfection in a cast iron skillet.

    Or, you can toss them in the deep fryer.

    These Gator Bites are like Florida Country Boy Chick Fil-A right here. (Except you can have these on Saturday AND Sunday!)

    The cornmeal really makes a difference in the texture and flavor of the breading.

    What your SEC Rivals are Cooking:

    Big Orange Smokey's + Checkerboard Relish

    Dawg Chow Snack Mix

    Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps

    Now, for the Swamp Sauce. How to go about it?  Get the ingredient list at the bottom of this post, toss it all in a jar and shake.

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    You can drizzle it....

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    Or you can just pour it on! What's in the Swamp Sauce? Everything. This sauce is legit, so don't skip it at your next Florida Tailgate. See the recipe below! (FYI, the sauce is great on burgers, too. Money.) Spicy, tangy, barely sweet...salty, lip-smacking...it will keep you chomping down on these addictive Gator Bait Bites!

    Tender bites of chicken marinated in a spicy mix, then breaded and fried. Serve with an addictive dipping "Swamp Sauce" for an awesome tailgate recipe

    Of all 14 SEC Tailgate recipes we made, this Florida Tailgate recipe was one of my faves!

    How I got through this post without a Tebow reference, I'll never know.

    Love this post? Sign up for the Buy This Cook That Newsletter for a weekly email of new content. You can also follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram for our latest + greatest ideas.

    Gator Bait Bites with Swamp Sauce | Florida Tailgate

    4.58 from 14 votes
    Print Recipe Email Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Appetizer
    Cuisine American
    Calories

    Ingredients
      

    For the Gator Bait

    • 3 chicken breasts trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • ¼ cup Frank's hot sauce
    • 2 TB Siracha or more to taste
    • ½ cup milk
    • 1 egg
    • 1 cup all purpose flour
    • 3 TB cornmeal
    • 1 TB powdered sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon paprika
    • ⅛ teaspoon pepper
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup vegetable oil divided (for cooking)

    For the Swamp Sauce

    • 4 TB chili sauce
    • 3 TB mayo
    • 3 TB Frank's hot sauce
    • 2 TB BBQ sauce any
    • 2 TB mustard
    • 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
    • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
    • ½ teaspoon paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

    Instructions
     

    For the Gator Bait

    • Combine the chicken, butter milk, ¼ cup of the Frank's hot sauce, and the Siracha. Stir to coat the chicken well. Cover and refrigerate between 30 minutes to 4 hours. Drain the chicken.
    • In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and stir in the milk. In a separate shallow bowl or dish, combine the flour, cornmeal, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika.
    • Heat about a fourth of the oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. In batches, dip the chicken into the milk and egg mixture, then into the flour mixture. Cook a few minutes on each side until the chicken "gator bait" pieces are browned and the chicken is cooked through.
    • Continue cooking until all pieces are cooked. Serve with swamp sauce.

    For the Swamp Sauce

    • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine well. Can be refrigerated or served room temperature.

    Notes

    p.s. GO VOLS!
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Appetizers & Snacks

    • How to Make Alabama Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
    • How to Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with Sugar + Spice
    • Chili Cranberry Crockpot Meatballs
    • Air Fryer Onion Rings with Frank's Red Hot

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tim Fortuna

      July 17, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      5 stars
      I can't believe how many times I have seen a recipe that SOUNDED great and when you follow it you go....meh....well this recipe is NOT one of them!!! My wife and I could not believe how unbelievable good this was!!! The coating on the chicken is the best 'nugget' coating we have ever made. Just an absolutely perfect crunch...and the sauce is to die for! I used a sweet chili sauce and sriracha mayo. It was the perfect spicy zing, with a bit of sweet and tangy mustard all hit your mouth. It was one of the more complex sauces we have made. All in all this was far better than what we expected! Thank you for this one!!!

      Reply
      • Teri

        July 29, 2020 at 7:59 pm

        You guys!!!! I'm gonna cry!! Thank you SO much for giving our blog (and this recipe) a shot. They are super yummy. Great on chicken strips, too. Heck, why not make a sandwich out of it, too. And the sauce, yes, I love that sauce. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment. I appreciate y'all so much. 🙂

        Reply
    2. DENISE WILLMARTH

      September 11, 2021 at 7:51 pm

      What kind of Chili sauce do you use?

      Reply
      • Teri

        September 12, 2021 at 12:21 pm

        Hi, Denise! I use a a sweet tomato-type chili sauce. Anything like this: https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwisvOCI-fnyAhUgBogJHX-JDdYYABAGGgJxbg&sig=AOD64_21aKvopU5cFHSQV7n5235E2KSmNw&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwikudaI-fnyAhUISTABHeuJCsYQww96BAgBEFQ&adurl=

        Reply

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