Oven Fried Chicken

Oven Fried Chicken
I could eat fried chicken at least once a week. But if I did, I would feel my arteries clogging with each delicious bite. Alas, I have resorted to finding the best possible alternative to traditional fried chicken.

Tonight I made Oven Fried Chicken. I am always skeptical of anything called "oven fried" because it never really tastes "fried." A fellow personal chef recommended that I try this recipe, and it was very tasty. It is from an old issue of Bon Appetit (June 2000) and 89% of the people who tired the recipe said they would make it again. I like recipes posted on the Epicurious site because they always have many reviews, good and bad, and suggestions for improvements.

I made a couple changes to the original recipe. Our family likes breasts and drumsticks so these were the only types of pieces I made. My chicken marinated for about 6 hours. I also increased the amount of melted butter drizzled over the coated chicken just before baking (from 3 to 5 tablespoons). Since I wasn't frying my chicken, I figured a couple more tablespoons of butter were not out of line.

"I like the coating; it is really flavorful. And the chicken is very moist," commented The Husband.

"The kitchen smelled really good when I got home today," added My Oldest.

I would recommend this recipe for your next fried chicken craving. You won't get that CRUNCH of deep fried chicken, but the recipe does produce a good alternative. One the plus side, you'll have a lot less mess to clean up in the kitchen when you baking is done.

Oven Fried Chicken

adapted from Bon Appetit June, 2000
serves 4

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
10 chicken pieces (breasts and drumsticks) with skin and bones

1 cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

5 tablespoons butter, melted

Whisk buttermilk, oil, hot pepper sauce, mustard, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in large bowl to blend well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover; chill at least 3 hours or up to 1 day, turning chicken occasionally.

Place racks on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Whisk breadcrumbs, cheese, flour, thyme, paprika, cayenne and 1 teaspoon salt in large baking dish to blend. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Add chicken to breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat completely. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on racks on baking sheets. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Drizzle butter over chicken. Bake until crisp, golden and cooked through, about 30 - 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Print recipe


25 comments:

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I love this oven fried chicken. Especially when there is no oily mess to clean up.

Dragon said...

I don't think I've ever seen better looking oven fried chicken. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Mnmmmm... that looks so delicious. I'm planning to make chicken Friday night and may have to do something similar!

Lisa magicsprinkles said...

89% plus you = Must Try!

Patsyk said...

That looks like "real" fried chicken! Never would guess that it was oven fried.

kat said...

Oven fried chicken is the way to go!

MaryBeth said...

YUMMO!!! Is the key to keeping the chicken crispy on the underside cooking it on a rack?

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

A very healthy and tasty alternative to knock KFC right out of the running!!!

Peter M said...

This can be described only as an immense success...it looks so dang'good!

Anonymous said...

yum! This is so one of my favourites...the kids love it too!

CookiePie said...

YUM - that looks really delicious!!

CM said...

I have made this before. It's even better when you make onion rings to go along with it! Slice the onions, dip them in the same batter, and bake them on a separate baking sheet.

Anonymous said...

I think the buttermilk bath makes fried chicken - also, for an extra crispy chicken, I use panko bread crumbs - I'll have to make this soon!

That Girl said...

Growing up I had no idea that fried chicken WASN'T made in the oven.
My parents ruined me from the start.

Maria said...

My husband is going to love this chicken!

Robin said...

Oven fried is great and so much cleaner! My kids would go gaga for this! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

You may not believe this, but I just found what I am going to make tonight. This chicken looks scrumptious and I really prefer baking to frying. The marinade and breadcrumb mixture look incredible. I'll be back to give you everyone's comments!

amycaseycooks said...

lisa - i'm with you on the clean up.

dragon - thanks for the compliment!

dara - hope you like the recipe.

lisa magicsprinkles - gotta love the recipes with high ratings.

patsyk - it was delicious.

kat - i do love my fried chicken though.

marybeth - the underside of the chix is not as crispy as the top. i may try to flip it next time.

bellini valli - hard to complete with KFC.

peter m - thank you!!

recipes2share - yes the kids did love it.

cookiepie - it is a keeper in my recipe file.

cm - i will definately try the onion rings next time.

biz319 - i have used panko for chix fingers; next time i made add a little to this recipe.

that girl - those tricky parents.

maria - always nice to make your husband happy.

robin sue - happy kids = stressless dinnertime.

jamie - isn't it great to figure out dinner before 6 pm? let me know how it goes.

Colleen said...

I love using buttermilk as a coating before breading. These look great!

Anonymous said...

I did make this chicken recipe last night with only one change - 1/4 tsp cayenne in the buttermilk marinade instead of the hot pepper sauce. And of course a little extra cheese in the breadcrumbs. This recipe was so easy and so much fun to put together and I want to say how delicious it was! So much more flavorful than the coating I usually use. The chicken was super moist as well as tasty. Thanks for giving me a recipe that is now added to my "regular" list. Everyone loved it.

I will be posting photos on my own blog as soon as the photos are processed.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I've made a recipe similar to this and adding hot sauce to the buttermilk is what I do also and it really makes a difference. So glad you didn't use cornflakes for a crust. I see that in recipes and it is a real turn-off. Your recipe sounds right on in my book. Thanks for sharing it.
Sam

Aggie said...

I'm not a huge chicken on the bone fan, however I do enjoy the idea of fried chicken...the coating, the flavor. I want to make this with chicken breasts...it sounds great!

kickpleat said...

i saw this recipe too on epicurious. i'll definitely have to try it soon. i love fried chicken but baking would be so much better...for my waistline, at least.

Jackie said...

Hi

When you made this recipe could you taste the extra-virgin olive oil. Extra-virgin olive is kind of strong.

amycaseycooks said...

jackie - thanks for stopping by. I did not notice a strong olive oil taste with this recipe. If you want, try half canola oil and half olive oil or even all canola oil in the recipe if you do not like using all olive oil.

Happy cooking!!