As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
These chicken tenders are an adult-only meal because of the sherry in the cream sauce and the marinade ingredients. Great meal for the grown ups.
A Meal For Grownups Only
It’s a treat every now and then to have something that’s not entirely “family friendly.” This is a great date-night meal for that reason.
Where I wouldn’t serve this to young kids–apart from the liquor–because their taste buds aren’t fully mature, it’d be perfectly acceptable for older teens. I’m sure that any alcohol burns off in the cooking process, but since I’m not sure if that applies to the marinated chicken, I would err on the side of caution and make this only for adults.
Radical Marinade
I took a chance with this marinade–which is radical because it’s only one ingredient.
The big surprise is that it’s sweet red vermouth. Yes, you heard that correctly. And the idea came from The Two Fat Ladies. They were cooking some game meat–I think it was partridge–and Clarissa said that marinating it in sweet red vermouth not only kept this virtually fat-free meat juicy, but that it also neutralized the gamey flavor.
Our chicken tenders and/or breasts aren’t gamey, but they can tend to be dry. I figured I’d give it a shot and see how it came out. I cooked one chicken tender to see what it tasted like and I admit I wasn’t too impressed. However, I had marinated a slew of tenders so I had to use them.
The big surprise was that when combined with the sherry and sour cream-based sauce, this all came together and tasted, well, fantastic.
Reductions Increase Flavor
Since I have the time to do it, I reduce most sauces food cooks in. To me, the flavor you get is well worth the time invested.
But I do realize that not everyone can afford the 20 or so minutes that this takes–especially when you have hungry people to feed–so thickening the sauce with about a tablespoon or two of cornstarch or flour mixed with water is totally OK. If you’ve used a rich concentrated stock, the sauce will still taste great.
The Recipe
Chicken Tenders In Sherry Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenders
- 1 cup red vermouth
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 8 oz button mushrooms cut in half
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 1/2 cup sour cream OR creme fraiche
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken tenders in a large bowl or container that has a tight-fitting lid. Pour in the red vermouth. Marinate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Drain the chicken and pat dry. Brown chicken on both sides--this may have to be done in shifts. Remove from pan and tent with foil.
- Turn the heat up to high and sear the mushrooms until they are a nice deep brown. Deglaze pan with the sherry then add the garlic. Stir in the chicken stock and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is reduced to about half.
- Whisk in the sour cream until there are no lumps/ Add the chicken back to the pan and heat through.
Nutrition
Robert Linke says
could I substitute white vermouth for the red – less noticeable on the chicken????
Judith Hanneman says
I’m sure it’d be fine. Even red wine would do.
Angelina says
This sounds lovely to serve for a special occasion. My in-laws’ anniversary is coming up soon, and since we all love chicken, this might be a good choice for our celabitory dinner. Do you think this dish would turn out ok if I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, since not everyone who will be at the table cares for white meat.
Judith Hanneman says
It’d probably be better!!! I used tenders because they were on sale.
Carole from Carole's Chatter says
I’m going to try something along these lines. Dont have vermouth but have some other stuff I might be able to use. Need to buy some sherry anyway. Cheers
Carole from Carole’s Chatter recently posted…Scalloped Vegetables (Potato, Kumara, Pumpkin)
Judith Hanneman says
Sherry would work too Carole! Really any wine would and if it’s a medium-dry or even slightly sweet that would work best. That’s why I used the red (sweet) vermouth. I was hesitant at first, but any time I followed suggestions from The Two Fat Ladies, I’ve never had a disaster!
Matt D. says
I’d like to try this out. It looks really delicious. Thanks