I decided to grill chicken tenders tonight, because my son and I have been working hard all day. We needed a hearty meal, but I didn't feel up to going gourmet on the grill this evening especially since I juggle both the outdoor and indoor cooking most of the time.
If they don't sell chicken tenders in your area (and I don't mean the frozen McNugget types), then they are just boneless, skinless chicken breast strips. You can get the full sized boneless chicken breasts and cut them in strips if those are on sale.
The advantage with the small pieces of chicken is that the grill up really fast. It depends on your grill heat, but I'd say the average time on grilling is 10 minutes.
The little chicken strips can be bland and turn out dry on the grill, but if you marinate them, then they have moisture and flavor. The marinade I used this evening is Allegro Hot & Spicy that I got with my birthday gift certificate from my son in college.
After warming up the grill and grill basket or wok, I just pour the chicken and marinade in the wok. The chicken strips can go directly on the grates, but it's easier to work with them in the grill basket.
Do be careful when pouring the chicken and marinade in. The heat can cause steam which can burn your arm or hands. I'm big on using grill gloves, but I know a lot of people skip that part.
The chicken turns from a pink color to white. You can see the white moving up the sides. It's time to flip the chicken tenders when you see that. I use grill tongs to do that.
All this does take just a few minutes with a hot grill. If you have any doubts about the chicken being done, you can cut into the side of one. Some grill folks will tell you never to do that, but it's really not a big deal on chicken tenders. After a time or two, you will be able to eyeball them and tell they are done without having to double check.
Here are our grilled chicken tenders. The lighting makes them look much dryer than what they really were.
If you do get them a little dry though, you can add some marinade after they are grilled. Just don't use any marinade where you had raw chicken sitting. You may be sitting on the bathroom throne if you do stuff like that when you're grilling.
No. This is not a fancy grilled meal, but it sure tasted great. I put the rice on and then went out to grill the chicken. After I put the chicken in the grill wok, I stuck the canned biscuits in the oven (those can also be done on the grill grates too). So, it all timed out nice, and we had a solid meal. Sure beat a frozen dinner and really didn't take more time than sticking one of those in the microwave.
The highlight of the meal for me was the Allegro Hot & Spicy marinade on the chicken. I've not been big on checking out marinades (but will be all over that now). I usually make my own marinades - olive oil and seasonings (not hard). But, I sure fell in love with Allegro.
I will warn you that the Allegro Hot & Spicy is, indeed, hot and spicy. Eli is yelling uncle on that. Too hot for my mild son. So, I'll have to try some others in this line and find one with a little less heat. For those who love some heat (but not burning the hair out of your nose), Allegro Hot & Spicy is excellent. I just love this one but will keep in mind that some folks can't handle this much hot.
This looks so delicious. It`s a very simple and fast recipe. I will try it tomorrow, hope to be good. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Cyndi. I just dropped a dozen chicken tenders in some Stubb's Chicken Marinade for an hour while I mixed up some cole slaw, then put them on the (gas) grill (set MOM) for about 8 minutes per side and they came out great. Tender and moist, lightly marked.
ReplyDeleteGlad others are enjoying my fast food grilled chicken idea. I prefer long cook rice which takes 20 minutes and the rest less, so it's basically a 20 minute grill meal. Not including the marinating time.
ReplyDeleteCostco has boneless chicken tenders and they are great. You need a membership but its worth it.
ReplyDeleteJust a tip: while a frontal flash on a portait will show harsh greasy highlights on a person's face, a little flash on food will give you some shine on that jucieness.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article!!
While frontal flash is typically bad for portraits, a bit on food shots will make those juices pop. Thanks for the article.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm a writer, but I'm working on photography. You should have seen my earlier shots. Argh. Food photography is hard work.
ReplyDelete