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Recipe Makeover
OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN
Could Southern-style deep-fried chicken be slimmed
down without sacrificing flavor, crunch, or happiness?
y husband’s favorite dinner
begins (and ends) with crispy,
crunchy deep-fried chicken.
The impish twinkle in his eye as he
munches on piece after piece is truly adorable (even if you’re not married to him).
But it’s no secret that classic fried
chicken is laden with calories (a whopping 552 per piece) and fat (34 grams to
be exact). Before subjecting my husband
to a lifetime of grilled chicken-breast
dinners, I decided to try my hand at a
low-fat, “oven-fried” version of his ultimate meal. A daunting task, I can assure
you, since it would have to pass not only
professional muster with my fellow test
cooks but also domestic muster in the
man-food taste test at home.
Many recipes called for dipping boneless, skinless chicken breasts in beaten
egg whites or low-fat mayonnaise to help
adhere dried bread crumbs or fine-ground
cornmeal. But chicken worth eating was
the goal here, not spa food.
No self-respecting fried-chicken lover
would dream of using anything other
than bone-in chicken parts. My first
concessions were to use bone-in breasts
(which have fewer calories and less fat
than dark meat) and to remove the skin.
I knew that removing the skin would
cost me flavor and moistness, so I borrowed a tried-and-true fried-chicken
trick and soaked the parts in robustly
seasoned buttermilk. Buttermilk also
happens to be low in fat, so I had no
worries about tacking on extra calories.
In search of a tasty coating, I tested
some “creative” options offered by writers of “healthy” recipes, including grated
Parmesan cheese, dry Cream of Wheat,
pulverized shredded wheat, bran flakes,
Weetabix cereal, crushed pretzels, packaged stuffing mix, and even ground-up
low-fat popcorn. Unfortunately, these
ideas solicited little more than amusement from my tasters.
Luckily, a mixture of crushed corn
flakes and fresh bread crumbs was pretty
close to perfect. The bottom of each
chicken piece was a bit soggy, but baking the chicken on a wire rack solved
this problem and eliminated the need
for turning. Because the coating was
still a bit dry, I mixed in a modest 2
tablespoons of oil, which gave the baked
chicken a genuine “fried” texture.
M
My coating now had great crunch,
but it needed more flavor. Salt, pepper,
and garlic powder picked up on the
seasonings I’d added to the buttermilk
marinade. I tossed in cayenne for heat
and paprika for color. Still not completely satisfied, I recalled the ground
poultry seasoning (a humble mixture of
ground sage, thyme, and bay leaves) that
always worked wonders for my mother’s
roast chicken, so I added some to the
coating for a savory jolt.
My gamble had paid off. The flavorful, craggy, deeply golden brown coating of this batch was a far cry from the
lackluster coating found on most “ovenfried” recipes. But the acid test awaited
me at home, with my husband. When he
proclaimed my recipe both “crispy” and
“crunchy,” I knew my work was done.
–Stephanie Alleyne
OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN
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.
2
2
21/4
cups buttermilk
tablespoons Dijon mustard
teaspoons salt
11/2
teaspoons garlic powder
11/2
teaspoons 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
21/2
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
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
No fryer needed for this extra-crisp
chicken.
FIERY OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN
Follow recipe for Oven-Fried Chicken,
increasing hot pepper sauce to 1 tablespoon. Replace 1⁄ 4 teaspoon salt in crumb
mixture with 1⁄ 2 teaspoon chili powder
and increase cayenne to 1⁄ 4 teaspoon.
The Crunchiest Choice
After testing a dozen options, tasters
decided that corn flakes made the
crispiest coating for our Oven-Fried
Chicken.
And the Numbers . . .
All nutritional information is for one
serving.
TRADITIONAL HOMEMADE
Fried Chicken
CALORIES: 552
FAT: 34g
SATURATED FAT: 10g
COOK’S COUNTRY
Oven-Fried Chicken
CALORIES: 216
FAT: 9g
SATURATED FAT: 4g
NO TIME TO SPARE?
Want to serve OvenFried 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.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2005•COOK’S COUNTRY
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8/2/05 8:31:37 PM