My husband and I only like the chicken breast meat, so when I buy several chickens to make stock, I remove the breasts. I separate the tenders, remove the tendons*, and then freeze the breasts and the tenders separately. When I need a quick meal, the tenders defrost quickly.
Spicy Baked Chicken Tenders
Serves 2
- 8 chicken tenders (from 4 chickens), tendons removed*
- 1 T. EVOO or melted ghee
- 2 T. seasoning (I use Old South BBQ, harissa, curry, zataar, whatever strikes your fancy!)
- salt, if your seasoning mix doesn't contain it.
Preheat oven to 400F. I use our toaster oven, which heats up quickly.
Line a small baking pan with parchment or a silicone mat.
Lay the tenders on the mat and drizzle with half the melted ghee or EVOO. Rub it in.
Sprinkle them liberally with your seasoning mix and add salt if necessary. Flip them over.
Drizzle with the remaining melted ghee or EVOO, rub it in, and season liberally.
In the photo above, I used Old South BBQ and, as you can see, I don't skimp!
In the photo below, I used Zataar.
.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. This is a hot oven - any longer and they'll be tough and dry.
Remove from the oven, cover with a sheet of parchment, and let them rest 2-3 minutes.
Serve. We like them with mayonnaise.
They're also great sliced and added to salad, or in chickpea fatteh (recipe coming soon!)
* In the photo below you can see the chicken breasts on the left, and the tenders on the right. In the center of each tender is a large white tendon that will be tough after it's cooked. I remove them. Grab the end of the tendon (yes, it's slippery!) and slide a sharp knife along each side.
NOTE: You CAN make this with whole breasts, sliced 1/2" thick against the grain to resemble chicken tenders, but they won't be as tender. If you bake the breasts whole, it will take a LOT longer than 8 minutes to cook them through.
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