Here's a funny true story. I always thought chicken tenders were those fast food fried chicken nuggets advertised as using real strips of chicken instead of chopped and formed white meat.
Turns out that chicken tenders are an actual cut of the chicken! It refers to the strip of chicken meat that is tenuously attached to the underside of the breast. It's also call the tenderloins of the chicken. So it tastes exactly like chicken breast, except it is more juicy and tender.
I only just embarrassingly discovered this fact last week.
It happened at Costco. Chicken aisle all empty-- except for these lonely bags of chicken tenderloins. I hesitated, fearing that these chicken tenderloins were the foods that even panic-driven shoppers didn't want. But I braved up, and bought a bag.
And after making this creamy mushroom chicken with chicken tenderloins instead of my usual chicken breasts, I'm totally converted. It was so juicy and tender, I almost didn't need a knife to cut the chicken.
So when you're at the supermarket looking at the empty meat bins, and chicken tenderloins are all that's left, fret not. It's actually a blessing in disguise.
Grab a bag. Give this recipe a try. You won't regret it.
Just make sure if the package says chicken tenders, it's really chicken tenderloins. It should be shaped like in the below pictures. According to USDA, the term chicken tenders can be the tenderloin or breast meat cut into strips to look like the tenderloin.
 |
| Gather ingredients |
 |
| Coat chicken in flour |
 |
| Pan fry both sides and then transfer to a dish |
 |
| Saute mushrooms and onions. Add thyme |
 |
| Add chicken broth and simmer until volume reduces by half. Then add cream. |
 |
| Return chicken to sauce and gently simmer a few minutes until chicken is cooked through. |
Recipe adapted from New York Times Chicken with Mixed Mushrooms and Cream
Yields 5 servings
Ingredients:
- 2.5 lbs chicken tenderloins (or boneless skinless chicken breasts)
- 1 ½ t salt, divided
- ½ t pepper
- 2 T olive oil
- 3 c sliced mushrooms (bella, button, cremini will all work, use what you have)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- ½ c all purpose flour
- 1 c chicken broth
- 1/3 c heavy cream
- 8 sprigs of thyme tied together in a bundle with kitchen twine for easy removal later
- chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Procedures:
1. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes with pepper and 1 t salt.
2. Place some flour on a plate and coat the chicken with flour, patting off any excess.
3. Pan fry the chicken over medium high heat in a skillet with some olive oil until slightly brown on both sides. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. (Note, the chicken is not cooked through at this point, and it’s ok.)
4. Add onions, mushrooms, thyme bouquet, and the remaining ½ t salt to the skillet and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add in the chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid volume has reduced by half. Lower the heat to a medium simmer.
5. Add in the cream and simmer for 1 minute.
6. Then add in the chicken and simmer for an additional 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Remove bouquet of thyme and discard. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed. Garnish with chopped chives (if using) and serve hot.