Why did my marinated chicken literally almost fall apart before cooking them? I put a wing sauce (spicy) and seasonings (salt, pepper, Italian, paprika) on chicken tenderloins, put them in a ziploc bag and sat in the counter why I did a couple of things, NO longer than 15 minutes. When I took them out the chicken tenders literally looked shredded...still together but like I had taken a razor to each one. I’ve never had this happen and I cook chicken this way (minus the seasonings, which I usually layer on top vs putting in the bag) every week.
Is something wrong with my chicken?
I don't think there is anything wrong in the chicken. It is more likely that your sauce had a high percentage of acid, which denatured the chicken proteins. You just happened to make a chicken ceviche, so to speak. (For food safety reasons, I wouldn't eat it as ceviche though, but cook as usual).