Place the chicken tenders in a plastic bag along with 2 cups buttermilk and 2 tbsp hot sauce. Close the bag and toss it around to mix it up. Place in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 3-4 hours. Or up to 24 hours.
When ready to cook the chicken, remove the bag from the refrigerator, taking the chill off. Place the flour, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Mix the ingredients up with a whisk.
Add the 6 tbsp of buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir with a fork so that it is clumpy. Don’t overstir, you want it to be clumpy.
Drain the marinade from the chicken, discarding it. Bread the chicken in the flour mixture, patting the flour onto the tenders so that they are well coated. Place the coated tenders onto a baking sheet.
When all of the tenders have been breaded, let them air out for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the oil for frying.
Add enough vegetable oil to a large pan (that’s good for frying) so that it’s about 1.5” deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350-375 degrees.
Add a few tenders to the hot oil at a time. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes and flip. Continue to cook for 2-3 minute intervals and flipping until the chicken is a deep golden brown and crispy.
Remove the crispy tenders to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook the remaining tenders in the same method until all of the tenders are cooked. Enjoy!