Tasty but very artificial (Birds Eye Cracked Pepper Chicken)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Birds Eye Cracked Pepper Chicken
Date:	06/07/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Spicy, good wrapped in a tortilla

Disadvantages: A strange squidgy texture to the chicken, rogue pepper corns ready to make your eyes water

One of my favourite teatime meals is chicken wrapped in a tortilla, obviously I much prefer fresh chicken perhaps stir fried in a little sauce or cooked in some spices but when I am out of chicken breasts I will opt for frozen chicken such as this Birds Eye Cracked Pepper Chicken which is very tasty although not the healthiest option if I'm honest.

Although it tastes very nice indeed, the texture of this chicken after cooking is a little unusual as it is has a slightly spongy consistency and will actually leak a little water if you press down on it with your fork. I find it a pleasant texture while eating, the problem is that having the chicken feel like this just serves to remind me how artificial this food is.

The smell is quite spicy, the first time I bought this chicken I was worried as it was cooking because I thought it was going to be too peppery for my tastes. I needn't have worried though as even though the taste IS very peppery it's still very pleasant indeed and really livens up my tortilla wrap, especially when I add a dollop of mayo to it.

The flavour is mainly in the marinade which sits atop the chicken piece, it's a brightly coloured marinade which makes the chicken look almost orange and I was pleased to see the pepper corns and small pieces of peppers mixed in which made it plain that this would be a very flavoursome food indeed.

The chicken itself is fairly good, although I think that without the pepper flavouring it would be extremely dull. While it's moist and slices well for my tortilla, the chicken itself is rather plain in flavour and in my opinion could have done with a little salt to bring the natural flavour out - if indeed there is anything natural about this product at all!

The pepper marinade is what makes this meal for me. It's very peppery but not overwhelmingly so in my opinion, the marinade melts beautifully while the chicken is cooking and this gives a rounded flavour even though it doesn't infuse the chicken as well as I would have hoped. The only thing you need to watch out for is the pepper corns as sometimes an hour later you'll inadvertently come across one in your teeth - it's a very hot sensation indeed if you happen to bite into one by mistake!

I can't see that I'd ever eat these on their own as while it's tasty in a tortilla, the quality of the chicken itself is not good enough to simply cut through and pop into my mouth with no adornments or anything to add a bit of interest. My daughter does eat it with a salad occasionally but she tells me she much prefers the Crispy Chicken pieces from the same Birds Eye range.

Summary: Lovely in a tortilla wrap but I can't imagine it being too good as part of a plated meal.