I saw packages of froz chicken tenders and breasts today at the grocers. Flipped the tenders package over and the directions said to remove from bag, place in oven, etc. Question: shouldn't these be defrosted first?

I'm looking for fast, easy healthy meals and have been wanting to try the tenders. Anyone have experience with the frozen and willing to share some tips?

Thanks!

Jeanne

Jeanne Ketterer wrote:
> I saw packages of froz chicken tenders and breasts today at the
> grocers. Flipped the tenders package over and the directions said
> to remove from bag, place in oven, etc. Question: shouldn't
> these be defrosted first? [snip]
>
What they now call "tenders" are just the narrow strip at the edge of
each chicken breast half. I think Julia Child used to call them the
"fillet" of the breast. They are part of the breast but often peel
away from the rest of it. So the packagers peel 'em off and package
them separately. At a premium price, of course, even though there is
nothing to distinguish them from the breast. I wouldn't think
defrosting was important, simply because they are so thin and small.

-aem

On Thu 10 Mar 2005 10:12:33p, aem wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Jeanne Ketterer wrote:
>> I saw packages of froz chicken tenders and breasts today at the
>> grocers. Flipped the tenders package over and the directions said
>> to remove from bag, place in oven, etc. Question: shouldn't
>> these be defrosted first? [snip]
>>
> What they now call "tenders" are just the narrow strip at the edge of
> each chicken breast half. I think Julia Child used to call them the
> "fillet" of the breast. They are part of the breast but often peel
> away from the rest of it. So the packagers peel 'em off and package
> them separately. At a premium price, of course, even though there is
> nothing to distinguish them from the breast. I wouldn't think
> defrosting was important, simply because they are so thin and small.
>
> -aem

The fillet or "tender" is distinguished from the rest of the breast because
it is more tender than the major section.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

In article >,
"Jeanne Ketterer" > wrote:

> I saw packages of froz chicken tenders and breasts today at the grocers.
> Flipped the tenders package over and the directions said to remove from bag,
> place in oven, etc. Question: shouldn't these be defrosted first?

Not if you just want to bake them. If you want to use them in something
such as a stir fry, thawing the chicken first makes sense.

> I'm looking for fast, easy healthy meals and have been wanting to try the
> tenders. Anyone have experience with the frozen and willing to share some
> tips?

I buy frozen chicken pieces once in a while. There's nothing special you
need to know with regard to cooking with them.

"Stan Horwitz" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Jeanne Ketterer" > wrote:
>
>> I saw packages of froz chicken tenders and breasts today at the grocers.
>> Flipped the tenders package over and the directions said to remove from
>> bag,
>> place in oven, etc. Question: shouldn't these be defrosted first?
>
> Not if you just want to bake them. If you want to use them in something
> such as a stir fry, thawing the chicken first makes sense.
>
okay, thanks, Stan. I was looking more for a stir fry. I'll get a
package this week and try them out.

Jeanne

Jeanne Ketterer wrote:
> [snip]
> okay, thanks, Stan. I was looking more for a stir fry. I'll
> get a package this week and try them out.

If it's a Chinese stirfry you probably will want to marinate the
chicken briefly, in wine or wine and soy or wine, soy and salt and
cornstarch. So do that as the first thing in your meal prep and by the
time you're ready to cook they'll probably be defrosted. If not, pop
them marinade and all in the micro for a few seconds.

-aem