Try this Easy Fried Chicken Tenders recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 72.3965073685 g
- Cholesterol 93.54643585 mg
- Fat 79.6641991895826 g
- Fiber 5.23875814247819 g
- Protein 41.3198780505 g
- Saturated Fat 11.1829593848359 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (324g)
- Sodium 2007.89079435 mg
- Sugar 67.1577492260218 g
- Trans Fat 6.90066689013383 g
- Calories 1172 calories
Step-by-step
- Take out your three ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Italian Herbs Infused Bread Crumbs & Chicken. (Optional addition, your favorite side sauce for accompaniment.)
- Place 1 part oil in a mixing bowl, and bread crumbs in another mixing bowl. Make sure chicken is fully thawed and patted down dry.
- Heat up a pan on the stovetop, on medium heat, with the other part of vegetable oil. Wait until it gets lightly bubbly and steaming.
- Take a thawed, tenderloin chicken piece and dredge it in the oil in the bowl you've set aside. Remove the chicken from the oil and then dip it in the breadcrumbs and be sure to completely coat the tenderloin with the breadcrumbs. Repeat the process until each piece is full coated with breadcrumbs.
- Cook in frying pan equally on each side until fully cooked or internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. About 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Choosing Alternative Breading Materials
Swapping Italian seasoned bread crumbs for plain panko alters both the crunch and the oil absorption rate. Panko flakes are larger and drier, creating a shatteringly crisp exterior that standard bread crumbs cannot replicate. When making this substitution, add extra oil to the pan because coarser crumbs require more fat to brown evenly without burning. Finer crumbs compact tightly around the meat, retaining moisture more effectively but yielding a softer crust.
Selecting Fats and Oils
Vegetable oil provides a neutral baseline, but swapping it for peanut oil introduces a higher smoke point of 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This higher threshold prevents off-flavors when frying over medium-high heat. Olive oil should be avoided entirely for this application because its low smoke point causes bitter compounds to form quickly when exposed to sustained pan heat. Maintain oil depth at approximately one-quarter inch to ensure proper heat transfer without submerging the tenders completely.
Verifying Internal Doneness
Checking chicken doneness accurately requires reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the tenderloin. Insert a digital probe horizontally into the meat to avoid hitting any empty space or touching the pan surface. Without a thermometer, pierce the center and observe the juices carefully. Clear juices indicate the protein is fully cooked, whereas pink or cloudy liquid demands additional minutes in the skillet. Cook time generally spans 10 minutes total, flipping halfway through to achieve golden-brown parity on both sides.
