I’ve been experimenting at home these last couple weeks frying wings and tenders. I’m very happy with the wings but the tenders are very difficult.
I wash the tenders, dry them and have done the dry, wet, dry thing. Even have let the product dry out before frying to ensure a crispier texture. Seems to take a ton of seasoning to get any flavor either by spicing up the flour or wet.
Using egg seems to make the breading less cripsy than by using milk or buttermilk. I’ve made a great Asian flavored chicken tender using flour, egg & corn starch but its not a crispy tender.
Tyson makes some good breaded chicken products but have no idea how to achieve that kind of breading and flavor – or at least come close as I’m sure they have some rather different commercial processes.
Looking for recipes to start with or suggestions. Thanks!
Call Sysco - they have a great product/system…called Sunday Skillet…
1st, you marinate the tenders for 30 minutes…drain & hold…dredge in flour, dip in “liquid” (kinda like a buttermilk substitution) then dredge back in the seasoned flour…fry…
I’ve used this “system” for yrs & I don’t use Sysco as my main supplier…I make the effort to go 2 will call…
I also use the marinade for the wings (overnight) - it great, as it pulls out the blood from the bone…
the Sunday Skillet system is similar to how Popeye’s does their chicken…
try breading them twice. one time at home by accident I dipped a piece of chicken in egg wash then the flour then by accident it fell into the egg wash so I dipped it in the flour again, it came out crispier than other pieces
I definitley recommend dry-wet-dry breading technique whatever the breading material. You can continue to alternate to build whatever thickness of crust you want to build, all the way up to fritters (30% of weight or more is breadnig).
Your first dry step will be the most important to adhesion of the breading. Pat meat immaculately dry, then into the flour . . . pat again to remove excess flour. The idea is to get a very thin layer that is about 1 grain thick that will adhere to the meat. Anything not in direct contact with meat has the risk of acting like a zipper when the coating is built up . . . it could just peel away from the chicken regardless of the rest of the layers.