Baked Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders Recipe - 3 Ingredients (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep chicken tenders moist when baking? ›

Marinate Your Chicken Breasts and Tenders

One sure-fire way to tenderize meat and pack in plenty of flavor? A solid marinade. Chicken breasts and tenders are no different in this regard; a marinade will help keep them tender, moist, and juicy. Fortunately, there are many flavor profiles to choose from with a marinade.

Temperature & Time: Preheat to 375 degrees. Place baking sheet in oven. Bake for 36 - 38 min. For best results, bake 20 min., flip the stuffed chicken, and then bake for another 16-18 minutes.

Prepare the breading station: Place flour in a shallow bowl. Place eggs and water in a second shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl, and mix in ground black pepper and cayenne pepper. Coat chicken in flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs, one piece at a time, and set aside.

A thick flour coating will absorb too much oil and prevent the coating from crisping. To eliminate the issue, dredge raw chicken parts (boneless, skinless, or bone-in) in a bag with seasoned flour and shake until the pieces are coated. Remove excess flour before cooking.

Chicken tends to dry out more quickly when exposed to direct heat. Covering the chicken creates a barrier that prevents the top surface from drying out, resulting in tender meat.

Brines and marinades help tenderize the meat by bringing more moisture in the protein.

For best results, bake 20 minutes, flip the stuffed chicken, and then bake for another 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Enjoy! This product is raw - Due to variations in ovens, cooking times may vary.

Even fully cooked chicken wrapped in bacon can still have a pink tinge to it. Further, bacon wrapped chicken does stay pink if the bacon has nitrates. The nitrates can cause the chicken to go pink. Your best bet for determining when chicken is safe to eat is to use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness.

It is possible for the chicken to remain slightly pink when wrapped in bacon. The nitrates in the bacon could tinge the chicken pink, or the chicken can have a pink hue from a pigment in the meat called myoglobin.

Step 1: Pat the chicken dry

Just as important as the first patting down of the chicken's surface, the final pat down of your meat after covering it with breading helps every piece of crunchy coating adhere. After coating chicken in an egg and breading layer, gently pat all sides.

How do you keep batter on chicken tenders? ›

After you get the breading on the chicken place the pieces on a sheet of wax paper for 20 minutes before cooking. Leave space between each piece of chicken. Also, if you're frying the chicken, don't move it around. Don't fuss with it, just let it do it's thing.

We like using a rack instead of simply plopping the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet because the rack allows the oven's hot air to reach and crisp-up every single nook and cranny in the chicken skin. A quick word on whether or not you should cover the chicken in foil.

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

To keep your chicken tenders moist, it's important to make sure your grill is at the right temperature and not to overcook them. I find that a grill between 375 and 400 degrees F is the right temperature for grilling chicken.

Poach the chicken

Her suggestion: Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a pan in a single layer, cover with a few inches of liquid (water, broth, etc.), add flavorings (spices, salt, herbs, soy sauce, etc.), then bring the liquid just barely to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the liquid simmers.

Brine. Like a marinade, a brine helps chicken breast soak up as much moisture as possible before cooking. It only requires three ingredients: water, salt, and a pinch of sugar.

To start, brine your chicken in a mixture of water and a few tablespoons of salt for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will boost the natural flavor and moisture of the chicken breasts and will leave you with a super tender piece of meat. This is the one step that will really ensure your chicken won't be dry or tough.