Mary's Oven Fried Chicken

I came across this recipe for oven fried chicken on Mary's blog, My New 30. Not only does she have delicious recipes, she's an animal lover and a star gardener too. I always learn something when I stop by My New 30, and this week it was how to make the best oven fried chicken I've ever tasted! It's marinated then crispy coated and oh-so-flavorful! Best of all, it's less mess than chicken fried on the stove top and it wasn't at all greasy. I'll be adding this recipe to my "favorites" notebook.

For the marinade you just need to mix together buttermilk, oil (I forgot to add the oil), Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. I swear I don't have some sort of deal with Giant Eagle, I just tend to buy store brand when the price is right.



I threw all of my ingredients together in a resealable plastic bag and shook em' up with my chicken breast halves. I should note here that I only used 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the 2 tablespoons called for. About 3 years into our marriage, my husband looked up from the lemon chicken I'd prepared for dinner and informed me, "I don't really care for lemon." Almost 7 years of dating and 3 years of marriage and I somehow missed that? "Just in this dish?" I asked. "No, in cooking in general" he answered. Geesh. I guess he just didn't want to hurt my feelings, but I was annoyed that he'd stomached my lemon chicken without saying anything before. Three more years have passed since this little lemon revelation. I've mostly adapted my cooking to avoid lemon. It's just one of those things that I've accepted as a happily married woman. I also don't expect that my husband's socks will EVER make it into the hamper. They may land 2 feet from the hamper, but certainly would not be caught dead (and sometimes they smell like the dead) in the hamper. Someone once advised me to pick my battles. I took it to heart. I've come to realize that lemon chicken and socks on the bedroom floor are SO not worth it.

Here's my chicken all ready for me to shake it up, baby!



I removed the excess air from the bag, sealed it up, and put it into the fridge to marinate for about 24 hours.



When dinner time rolled around last night I prepared the coating. You'll need corn flakes, flour, Parmesan cheese, thyme, lemon peel (which I omitted), dried mustard, paprika, cayenne, kosher salt, and pepper



Crush up your cornflakes (I put mine in a baggie and let my daughter pound away with a meat mallet) and then mix all of the ingredients together.



Remove the chicken breasts, one at a time and allow the marinade to drip away.



Dredge the chicken in the coating mixture, covering both sides well.



You can either line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on the sheet for the chicken or line the bottom of your broiling pan with foil and place the coated chicken on top. Either way, the grease drips away from the chicken while it bakes, leaving it a little healthier and with a nice, crispy finish. I forgot to take a picture, but I used my pastry brush to cover each breast half with 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter before I popped it into a 375 degree oven. I think the butter gives it a nice golden brown finish, plus adds a little buttery flavor. Baking details can be found in the recipe below.



Here it is, fresh from the oven. I got a little distracted and didn't remove it right on time, so it got a little dark. What is that beep? What keeps beeping? 10 minutes later...oh yeah, the timer! It was really good. The whole family ate it up! Fried chicken puts me in a down-home cookin' kind of mood so I served it up with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans canned right out of my Grandma Shirley's garden. Yum!



Here's the recipe, straight from My New 30:

Mary's Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

6 bone-in chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons of melted butter

Marinade:

2 cups of buttermilk
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 pinches of kosher salt
8 turns of the pepper grinder

Coating:

2 cups of plain (unfrosted) cornflakes, crushed
3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried lemon peel or freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 pinches of kosher salt
8 turns of the pepper grinder

Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a medium sized glass bowl. Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Allow to marinade at least 6 hours, or overnight is even better! Turn the chicken occasionally.

When ready to cook, line a large, shallow baking pan {a jelly roll pan works well} with aluminum foil and place an oven safe rack on top of that. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray. If the chicken breasts are on the larger side, you will want to spread them out over 2 trays, and alternate the trays halfway through the cooking time.

Combine the coating ingredients together and mix well with a fork. One piece at a time, remove the chicken breast and allow the marinade to drip off; then dredge each in the coating mixture, turning to coat both sides. Set on the rack and repeat with each piece of chicken. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of the melted butter over each chicken breast. Place into the hot oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes; turn and/or switch baking sheet(s) if using more than one. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer.