I decided to experiment with a couple non-standard chicken breading options. Here are my results.
Chicken tender on the Left: coated in TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
Chicken tender on the right: coated in Vital Wheat Gluten.
Process:
Dry each tender with a paper towel.
Dip each tender in egg whites. (~15g total)
Dredge each tender in the TVP or VWG, making sure to coat entire tender. (~7g of each coating ended up being sufficient)
Spritz air fryer with oil. Drop tenders into basket and air fry for 4 minutes at 400F.
Flip each tender, spritz with a bit more oil and air fry for another 3 minutes. Used an instant read thermometer to check the chicken was up to temp.
Verdict:
TVP: this was a surprisingly good option for chicken breading. I used the dehydrated TVP and did not rehydrate it. It ended creating a satisfyingly crispy crust that held dipping sauce well.
Texture-wise it was on par with Panko bread crumbs, but with about 75% of the calories, 50% of the carbs and 500% of the protein for a similar mass.
Taste-wise it was bland and innocuous on its own. TVP has an ever-so-slightly nutty taste that you probably wouldn’t even notice, especially if you spice/sauce it up.
Overall verdict: 9/10 — this will probably become my quick go-to breading for air frying chicken tenderloin.
Vital Wheat Gluten: this ended up creating a cohesive coating that never really ended up getting crispy, but definitely “firmed up” (for lack of a better term) around the chicken.
Texture-wise it left a little to be desired. It works as a breading for air frying, but didn’t get to that satisfying crunchy zone in this application. It definitely created a shell around the outside that was easy to bite through, and wasn’t rubbery or gummy, but it wasn’t crispy either.
Taste-wise it was bland. Could definitely be spiced up or dipped in sauce for flavor.
Overall Verdict: 6.5/10 — it had promise, and it’s certainly edible, but it didn’t exactly work in this application. It’s useful as a lower-carb, higher-protein option compared to flour or bread crumbs.
Notes/Caveats:
I wonder if the VWG would crisp up if it had more time in the air fryer? It might work better on a larger piece of meat like a chicken breast, or on a chicken thigh which you can easily air fry way past 170/180. That way it will actually get more time to get crispy.
Conversely, I wonder if the TVP would get too crispy if air fried for longer? It’s already dehydrated and crispy in its natural state. Probably best for tenderloins or nuggets.
I tried the breading plain this time, but both seem like they’d be great candidates for different spice mixes added to the breading to try out different flavors. And both worked well dipping into BBQ sauce for the taste test.
I hope this is at least interesting for some people out there. And please let me know if you have any questions.
by adesimo1