Seasoning and Grilling Chicken Tenders Like a Pro

Chicken tender catering makes a crowd-pleasing choice for a variety of events, and picking up crispy chicken tender meals can be helpful especially on busy days. However, grilled chicken tenders are another fantastic meal idea for any day of the week or occasion. They are a versatile choice, often quick to prepare, and pair well with many other delicious things to grill. Keep reading for tips on seasoning and grilling your chicken tenders as well as their many uses.

Seasoning and Other Grilled Chicken Tender Tips

As with making other types of homemade chicken tenders, trying out various cooking tips is one way to help you perfect your grilled chicken tenders. Typically, there are two primary goals when cooking chicken tenders on the grill: serving chicken pieces that are flavorful and ensuring that they stay tender (while also being cooked to a safe temperature). Below, find out more about seasoning and grilling your chicken tenders for your enjoyment and that of any fellow diners:

Celebrate simplicity or experiment with a variety of seasonings. In general, chicken doesn’t have a particularly distinctive flavor (unlike a lemon that is known for its sourness). Therefore, your choices of herbs, spices, marinades or sauces do most of the work in terms of the overall taste of your grilled chicken tenders. If you are going to pack the flavors into your dipping sauces, you might opt to stick with basic seasoning essentials for your tenders like salt and pepper. On the other hand, the ingredients you use on the tenders may also bring their own spectrum of flavors to each bite of the chicken itself or complement other parts of the complete dish, like a side.

Marinate mindfully. Planning to let your chicken sit in a marinade for at least 30 minutes can help ensure flavorful and juicy grilled chicken tenders. If there isn’t enough time for this process or too much time is allowed to pass, then the tenders may not benefit fully from this step or may even be negatively impacted by it. Especially if you are using a new recipe, don’t forget to check out the recommendations provided or consider these general tips from The Spruce Eats.

Prepare your grill. Whether you are using a gas grill or a charcoal grill, it’s important to ensure that the grates are clean prior to cooking to help prevent the more slender and delicate chicken tenders from sticking. Other recommendations for preheating or grill care may be provided based on the specific recipe being used.

Use a meat thermometer. If you want to ensure that your chicken is cooked to a safe temperature (165 ℉ according to the USDA), then it isn’t the color of your grilled chicken tenders or the number of minutes that they spent on the grill that should serve as confirmation. Instead, check your tenders with a meat thermometer to see if they are cooked to the appropriate temperature.

3 Grilled Chicken Tender Meal Ideas

In addition to the flavor imparted by your approach to seasoning, it’s often that little bit of flame or touch of smoke that brings something special to grilled chicken tenders. Taking advantage of the space on your grill and the quick cooking time for chicken tenders can also be helpful in doing meal preparations for the week. Here are 3 different ways to incorporate grilled chicken tenders into meals:

Grilled Chicken Tender Salad

Whether simply seasoned or prepared with your favorite marinade, grilled chicken tenders can be served with various leafy greens, as part of quinoa bowls and in other types of salads. For a grill-based dish, consider grilling onions, tomatoes and zucchini alongside the chicken tenders, tossing them with quinoa and finishing the dish with a dressing like this one made with feta from The Kitchn.

Grilled Chicken Club Sandwiches

Both Crispy Chicken Club Sandwiches and Grilled Chicken Club Sandwiches, as well as combo meals, are available on the Freddy’s menu. Making a delicious grilled chicken club can also be done at home using your prepared chicken tenders. Grilling the tenders in advance helps shorten the time between having the club craving emerge and satisfying it.

Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Grilled chicken tenders or any other pre-cooked chicken help speed up dinner preparations during busy weeks. With just a few additional ingredients such as the ones in this recipe from Allrecipes, even enchiladas can be ready to bake in just about 10 minutes.

Grilled chicken tenders can be both a fast and flavorful dish to make at home. If you aren’t interested in heating up the grill tonight, then check out the crispy chicken tenders and other chicken sandwiches available at Freddy’s. Whether you order a Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich Combo, a Kid’s Tender Combo or any other item on our menu, we look forward to serving you soon at the Freddy’s near you!