Whether you like to eat chicken or not, you should definitely give chicken tenderloins a try because chicken tenderloins are one of the best chicken cuts. They are incredibly tender, as the name suggests, and healthy at the same time. Even if you are not fond of chicken, these are worth giving a try because they come out incredibly delicious and juicy if cooked right. On the other hand, if you love chicken, you will surely enjoy eating chicken tenderloins, and it will make you love chicken even more.
However, it is impossible to enjoy this amazing part of chicken if it is not cooked right. Therefore, we have listed some healthy and easy recipes to help you enjoy chicken tenderloins at home.
Prep
Prepping is one of the most important steps in cooking meat, no matter what kind of meat or which cut you are working with. But before we talk about prepping, make sure you are working with the right slice. In a lot of stores, thin slices of breast meat are sold as tenderloins, whereas tenderloins are actually thin slices taken from beneath the breast. Undoubtedly, the slices from breasts are great, as well. But chicken tenderloins and thin slices of chicken breast are not the same. Make sure to get tenderloins to get the best results.
For prepping, tenderloins don’t need as much effort as red meat. However, not prepping them is definitely not an option because you will miss out on moist and juicy meat if you skip prepping and cook it right away. What you should do first is stab the meat with a fork. This will allow the seasonings and marinades to go inside.
You can even use acids or enzymes to marinate the meat. If you don’t know yet, acids and enzymes help to break down the muscle fibers. As a result, it becomes juicier and tender. Acids and enzymes might sound intimidating, but we are not talking about the acids and enzymes we used in the chemistry lab. The enzymes you need to tenderize meat can be easily found in your kitchen.
For acids, you can use simple white vinegar or some lemon juice. For enzymes, pineapple or mango fruit puree will work really well. A good thing about using fruit purees is that they bring a subtle sweetness to the meat, which makes it even more delicious. Along with these, you should also add some salt and pepper according to your taste. Some garlic and ginger paste can be a great addition too. You can also add some herbs like basil and sage to amp up the flavors. After you season it, let it sit for at least thirty minutes.
Now that you have marinated it well, you have plenty of options on how you will cook them. Here are a few of them.
Steaming
This is one of the easiest ways to cook your chicken tenderloins. If you are concerned about making it healthy, you can consider steaming it. When you steam it, you don’t need to add any unhealthy additives to make it tasty. All you need to do is to preheat your steamer for about ten minutes and then place the meat in the steamer. It won’t take much time to cook.
Another reason most people like to cook in this way is that it leaves the meat immensely juicy and moist. So it would surely melt in your mouth. You can add some other things to the steamer like some green vegetables or some tofu. This way, you can easily get an entire healthy meal cooked at once. Because it is all steamed, you don’t need to worry much about the calories.
Baking
This is a classic way people cook their chicken. It gives impressive results without making it unhealthy. The results you get are very similar to frying with having to consume a piece of chicken drenched with oil. So it lets you have an amazingly tasty meal that won’t ruin your hard work in the gym.
All you need to do is to preheat your oven for about ten minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, line a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper and place the marinated tenderloins on top of it. The parchment paper beneath will make sure that the chicken doesn’t get stuck to the tray. If you don’t use the parchment paper, it might get stuck to the tray because we haven’t used oil. Moreover, the parchment paper will make sure you don’t miss the amazing juices that will come out as the meat cooks.
Just like the previous one, you can add some vegetables in the oven with the chicken. Some beans and carrots would perfectly be paired with the baked tenderloins. Moreover, the vegetables will make it a complete balanced meal.
Grilling
Nothing beats a good old grilled chicken, does it? When you grill chicken tenderloins, things get even better. Once you have some grilled chicken tenderloins, you will only buy tenderloins. Making it is pretty simple as well. You need to light up your grill and place the marinated tenderloins on the grill and grill them like you would grill anything else. If you haven’t grilled before, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Don’t place the meat on a cold grill. Make sure to wait until it is fully heated. Once you start grilling, don’t check it too frequently. This will slow down the process, and the meat will take longer to cook. To know when the meat is cooked, use a meat thermometer. Use food temperature charts for reference.And lastly, don’t get tempted to slice the meat as soon as it is done cooking. Let it rest for some time, and then it is ready to dig in. You might think there are too many steps, but these are done just to make food enjoyable.
To Sum Up
With these easy chicken tenderloin recipes, you will be able to make simple and tasty dishes in no time. Eating healthy will be easier than ever.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
Speak Your Mind