Oven-Fried Chicken
(from Bethany’s recipe box)
Serves 8
To crush the corn flakes, place them inside a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to break them into pieces no smaller than 1/2 inch.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We marinated our Oven-Fried Chicken in highly seasoned buttermilk flavored with mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Soaking the chicken for at least one hour, or even better, overnight, allowed the flavors to penetrate deep into the meat. For the coating, we used a blend of corn flakes and bread crumbs. Seasoned heavily with spices and lightly coated with oil, the coating baked up as crisp as a deep-fried crust.
We baked the chicken in a hot oven on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. The rack allowed hot air to circulate beneath the chicken, ensuring that all sides of the pieces became crisp. Traditional homemade fried chicken has 552 calories, 34 grams of fat, and 10 grams of saturated fat per serving. Cook’s Country Oven-Fried Chicken has 216 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 4 grams of saturated fat per serving.
Source: Cook's Country October/November 2005
Categories: Poultry
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 1/4 teaspoons table salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 8 split bone-in chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each), skin removed and ribs trimmed with kitchen shears
- 2 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes
- 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
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Whisk buttermilk, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and hot sauce together in large bowl. Add chicken, turn to coat well, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
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Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil, set wire rack on sheet, and coat rack with nonstick cooking spray.
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Gently toss corn flakes, bread crumbs, remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, paprika, and cayenne in shallow dish until combined. Drizzle oil over crumbs and toss until well coated. Working with one piece at a time, remove chicken from marinade and dredge in crumb mixture, firmly pressing crumbs onto all sides of chicken. Place chicken on prepared rack, leaving 1/2 inch of space between each piece. Bake until chicken is deep golden brown, juices run clear, and instant-read thermometer inserted deep into breast away from bone registers 160 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes.
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Make-Ahead Preparations – Want to serve Oven-Fried Chicken after work? Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk mixture and combine the dry ingredients in a zipper-lock bag (all but the oil) the night before or in the morning before heading out. When you come home, all you’ll have to do is heat the oven, toss the crumb mixture with oil, coat the chicken, and bake.