Zesty Grilled Chicken Tenders Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make chicken tender and not rubbery? ›

Cook your chicken breast on the grill for 6-8 minutes on one side. Flip your chicken. After 6-8 minutes open your grill lid and flip your chicken breast with tongs. A great tip is to only flip your chicken breast once so that it stays nice and juicy (and creates delicious grill marks!)

Olive Oil: This helps to keep the chicken tender and adds moisture. Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed juice or buy it pre-squeezed. The acidity of the lemon helps to break down the fibers in the chicken so that they are super juicy when grilled. Thyme: This adds a nice herby flavor to the chicken.

The best tenderizer though, is a salted yogurt marinade. The salt has the same effect as in a regular brine, but the lactic acid in the yogurt further tenderizes the meat. A 15-minute marinade with one cup of yogurt and one teaspoon of salt makes for the most tender chicken breasts imaginable.

There are three key tricks: tenderize, marinate, and controlled cooking time. When you use all three of these methods, you will have succulent, moist chicken every time, and you can apply these strategies to other cuts of meat as well.

We recommend marinating your chicken in buttermilk or yogurt overnight, but if it's urgent, then an hour will do. However, the texture of the chicken won't be as even as chicken marinated overnight. The process is simple: you only have to immerse the chicken in a container with enough yogurt or buttermilk and seal it.

Tips for Perfectly Baked Chicken Tenders

Soak chicken in milk: If you want super tender and juicy chicken, make sure to soak the meat in milk or buttermilk for at least 15-30 minutes prior to baking. The enzymes in the milk help break down the protein in the meat, creating a super tender result.

Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.

Olive oil helps to brown the outside of the chicken, bringing it to a beautiful golden color, while still maintaining the meat's internal moistness. This is especially important when grilling, as chicken can quickly become dried out when cooked directly over the grill's heat.

How to grill chicken so that it is tender? ›

Unlike chicken thighs, chicken breast is much thicker on one side. This difference makes it challenging to grill, as one side turns rubbery by the time the other is cooked through. Pounding the chicken to an even thickness solves this problem! It also tenderizes the meat and gives you a head start.

Moist Heat Cooking: Consider simmering the tough chicken in a liquid-based recipe, such as a stew, soup, or curry. Moist heat cooking methods can help break down the fibers in the meat, making it more tender.

Protein, fat, and liquid are the three elements that make up chicken. As previously mentioned, the chicken loses moisture (and fat) as the cooking time increases, resulting in a rubbery texture.

Slow cooking your chicken is one of the greatest ways to achieve a tender piece of meat. The long cooking process allows for a tender and delicious chicken, giving the juices and flavor time to blend and fuse. You can choose to cook or smoke the chicken, depending on your recipe.