Deep frying Trader Joe's orange chicken?

[oldrustycars]

Has anyone tried deep frying Trader Joe's orange chicken? I understand an air fryer works well but we don't have one. We do have a Presto Grandpappy deep fryer. Has anyone tried this? Was it any better than throwing it in the oven? Thank you.

 

[WhateverYouWant]

Frying frozen foods can be dicey as they often contain ice crystals, which makes a mess when frying. Maybe bake them for half the prescribed time to evaporate ice/water and finish them up in the fryer.

Another consideration is that coatings designed to be baked can be a bit heavy when fried. For orange chicken I prefer a corn starch coating and a twice fry method, which is pretty light.

With all that said... I get that the frozen stuff may be more convenient, but the fact that you are considering to fry this you might want to think about making it from scratch as it is a pretty simple recipe. Here is a great one:

https://youtu.be/GJ9OpCT9Ark

 

[oldrustycars]

Understood. I'm not new to deep frying, just never tried these before. These might be the only prepared food we buy, and these are only a few times a year. Otherwise we have a kitchen full of cookware and probably 3/4 the inventory of a Penzeys store so we usually cook from scratch. Thank you for the reply.

 

[caseydog]

Understood. I'm not new to deep frying, just never tried these before. These might be the only prepared food we buy, and these are only a few times a year. Otherwise we have a kitchen full of cookware and probably 3/4 the inventory of a Penzeys store so we usually cook from scratch. Thank you for the reply.

I've heard their orange chicken is quite good. I have deep fried frozen chicken tenders in the past as a quick snack, and it works out fine. I microwave them just enough to make them soft, and just cool inside. No problems. I find that the crust is crispier deep fried. It doesn't take long, as you are just trying to heat the meat up, not cook it, and crisp up the breading.

CD

 

[oldrustycars]

This just in: Don't deep fry TJ's Orange Chicken. Only made a mess, wasn't improved at all. Film at 11.

 

[HeyItsSara]

oh, hahahaha

 

[Just Cooking]

My air fryer cooks them nicely.

Ross

 

[MuthaCocaNutz]

Has anyone tried deep frying Trader Joe's orange chicken? I understand an air fryer works well but we don't have one. We do have a Presto Grandpappy deep fryer. Has anyone tried this? Was it any better than throwing it in the oven? Thank you.

I know this is a few years old, I was wondering the same thing, tried it anyways after reading the previous replies. It came out great! I deep fried them for about 4.5 minutes at 350. It was a little on the crispy side maybe 30 seconds or so less would've been better. I have oven baked and air fried these before and I feel that the deep fry was the best overall.

 

[Andy M.]

We like TJs orange chicken but never deep fried it. That might be worth a try.

I can attest deep frying tater tots is the absolute best way to go!

 

[MuthaCocaNutz]

Hell yeah! Deep fry or air fry for any frozen potato is the way to go. Oven baked is trash.

 

[jennyema]

It’s already fried, isn’t it? I just pop it into the oven .