Vol. 17: Hardee's Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders

I love fried chicken.  There is no way around it.  Chicken tenders - while they have a tendency to not actually be tender - are one of the safe standbys almost anywhere one goes.  So why is it, then, that most places fail to have their versions of chicken tenders not suck live up to their full potential?

After succumbing to marketing techniques being intrigued by several commercials for their new 'hand-breaded, freshly prepared' chicken tenders, I found myself in the drive-thru of my local Hardee's.  The tenders were on the upper-end of reasonably priced - $3.29 for a three-piece or $4.99 for a five-piece - but, I thought to myself, Self!  If these are half the size they are on the commercial, and are half as good as they look and sound, go for it!  So I drove off with a 5-piece and some Creamy Buffalo sauce. 

Now for those that have not seen the commercials, these tenders are portrayed as fist-sized slabs of juicy chicken so crispy you can hear them being bitten into (it's less gross than it sounds, honest).  I couldn't help but think they screwed my order up on my way back - hefting the bag and all - and musing, "wow, this is kind of light for five slabs of fried chicken."  Well, it turns out, they got it right.  As you can see, these are nowhere near the advertised size;  not a wholly unsurprising find.  The flavor, however, was surprising.  They are just as juicy and tender as portrayed, and the Buffalo sauce is flavorful without being ridiculous (somewhere on the Mild side of between Mild and Medium).  I can honestly say they actually reminded me of good ol' homemade tenders - of course, mine are better, but I don't have to clean the kitchen at Hardee's.

The final verdict on this one requires a special consideration.  There is no such thing as a 4.5 on the BadgerScale, otherwise this would have scored it.  The clinching factor on why it didn't nail a five is based solely on the price.  To score a 5, I would have to be willing to pay a little more than I did already for the product;  which is every junk food's dream.  Normally, this question is very simple and requires little-to-no debate.  I can honestly say I have yet to come to a final decision on the matter, which, regrettably, means it does not.  But the flavor definitely scores a 5.

The Verdict

4/5.  Still sitting on the fence, but I can't call a 5 with a 2x4 in my butt without conviction.