Oven Fried Chicken!

  

  

I have tried a lot of different recipes and techniques for oven 'frying' chicken.  Some have been good...some could have been better.  It seems that with some recipes, if you cook it at a high enough heat and long enough to crisp the crust, the chicken itself ends up dry.  Others I have tried, the chicken is moist and tasty, but the crust is lacking in crispiness and ends up a little soggy and falling off.  

This recipe is the best, so far, I have tried.  The chicken is so moist, it's unreal and the crust is very crispy and tasty.  It also doesn't take all afternoon to prepare.   Here is what you will need:

 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if you prefer other pieces use those)

2 cups buttermilk

1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed fine

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

6 Tbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with the buttermilk. I cut my breasts in half because they were very large and I like more crust. You can also cut them in nuggets or strips.  Kids like the smaller pieces better.  Place the top on your bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.   It's best if it has time to marinate in the buttermilk.

Place the Ritz crackers in a gallon size Ziploc bag.  You can crush them with a rolling pin or in a food processor.   Add the Panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, dry Ranch dressing mix, and black pepper.  Mix it all together well.  Add the chicken pieces, two at a time to the crumb mixture.  Shake the excess buttermilk off of them.  

These are Panko Bread Crumbs in case you aren't familiar with them.  The texture is very different than other bread crumbs, very crispy.



Remove from the crumb mixture and place them on a cookie sheet or pan you have lined with foil, preferably nonstick Reynolds wrap, which I think is one of the keys to this crust crisping up like it does, that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. /Drizzle each piece with the melted butter. Place in oven for 40 - 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces.

Oven Fried Chicken





Cheesy Ritz Cracker Chicken!

This "Cheesy Ritz Cracker Chicken" is absolutely scrumptious!  This is an oven fried chicken coated in Ritz cracker crumbs mixed with cheese.  What could be bad about that, right?  I soaked my chicken in buttermilk for about an hour ahead of time and it was so tender you could cut it with your fork.

 If you don't have time to marinade it for the hour, it still works fine. There is a cream sauce you can also make that is so easy and it's great over the chicken and mashed potatoes or rice.

Here is what you are going to need for this:

12 boneless chicken breast tenderloins or 4 large boneless chicken breasts cut in thirds lengthwise

2 cups buttermilk

2 sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed fine

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

4 Tbs. butter, melted

seasoned salt

black pepper

Cream Sauce

1 (10.5 oz.) can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and pour the buttermilk over it all making sure to coat it all over really well.  If you have time, cover and let it hang out in the fridge for about an hour.  This really tenderizes the chicken and makes it so good.  If you don't have time for that, you can skip it and it's still good.  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the Ritz cracker crumbs and the finely shredded cheddar cheese in a gallon size Ziplock bag.   You can crush the crackers in the food processor or place them in the bag and use your rolling pin to crush them.  I prefer using the rolling pin to do this, because I don't like them too fine.

Place about three pieces of the chicken at a time in the bag, seal and shake to coat the chicken.  Be sure to let the excess buttermilk drip off first.   Place each piece on a baking sheet you have covered with nonstick foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.  Make sure they are not touching.   If the pieces do not get good and coated, once they are on the baking sheet, I go back and pack some extra crumbs on top of each piece.   Continue  breading until all pieces are coated.  

Drizzle each piece with the melted butter.  Sprinkle each piece with a little seasoned salt and a little black pepper.   

 Place in a 375 degree oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until browned on top.  There is no need to turn them during cooking.

To make the cream sauce, just place all of the ingredients for it in a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat just until heated through.  I served the sauce on the side and let everyone that wanted it over their chicken or mashed potatoes, serve themselves.   

 This is a must try!  It's so good!  

Parmesan Ranch Chicken!

This "Parmesan Ranch Chicken" is a yummy oven fried chicken!  The crust is made from cornflakes and it's nice and crunchy on the outside and so moist on the inside!   It's a good alternative to fried chicken and it's super easy!  This is one of my families favorites!

 Here is what you need:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (could also use thighs)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) divided and melted

2 cups crush corn flake crumbs

1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt 1/2 of the butter in a shallow dish, like a pie plate.  Place the crushed cornflakes in a gallon size zip lock bag. You can crush the cornflakes right in the bag by closing it and rolling a rolling pin over it or you can do them in the food processor.  Just don't over crush them.  Leave a little texture to them.  Add the dry ranch dressing mix, seasoned salt, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.  Close the bag and shake to mix all of the ingredients.   

Dip each chicken breast in the butter then place two at a time in the bag with the crumbs.  Seal it and shake to coat on all sides.   Place on a baking sheet covered with nonstick foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.   After they are all coated.  Put the extra crumbs on top of each piece.   Melt the other 1/2 of the butter and drizzle it over each piece of chicken.

Place in the preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  They should be nice and browned!

I served this with Three Cheese Mac & Cheese with Bacon , Sweet and Sour Green Beans , and tossed salad!   It was so good!  Hope you enjoy it!

Mama's Potato Chip Chicken!

This is a my mother's recipe for oven fried chicken.  It's a little different than the one I have posted before that I use, but it is equally as good and uses items you more than likely have on hand.   You can adjust how many pieces of chicken you bake according to the number of people you are serving, but this will easily coat 6 chicken breasts.  

 I always tend to cook more than needed, because the leftovers are so good and my mother always has cooked by the rule that she would rather have too much than too little.  That was instilled in me, so I always cook like I am cooking for a big family. Mama has always said that even though her family, growing up, didn't have a lot of different things to eat at meals, they always had plenty of what they did have and no one was ever turned away from their table. 

 I am used to feeding men and growing boys, so any amount of chicken is never too much.   When my son was growing up and lived at home, his friends ate with us quite a bit and I always enjoyed feeding all of them.  Wow, could those boys eat!  Even though my grocery bill has probably gotten smaller these days, I would love to have them all back eating with us again.  Those were fun times! 

Here is what you need for this oven fried chicken:

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1 cup Ruffles potatoes chips crumbs  (The Ruffles have more texture)

1 cup corn flake crumbs

1 cup flour

seasoned salt

black pepper

Soak the chicken breasts in salt water for about 30 minutes before preparing it.  This is called  "brining" and it not only adds flavor, but it tenderizes the chicken.    Just dissolve about 2 tsp. of salt in enough water to cover the chicken.

Place the melted butter in a shallow dish and dip each chicken breast in the butter.  

Mix the potato chip crumbs, corn flake crumbs, and flour in a shallow dish and roll the chicken coated in butter in the crumbs.  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.   I like to use Reynold's nonstick foil for this.  If you do not have it, buy some and try it. Nothing sticks to this stuff. 

Sprinkle any leftover crumbs over the tops of each piece.  Sprinkle each piece with seasoned salt and black pepper to taste. 

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.  

***You can cut each breast into about  3 pieces for chicken strips and coat.  Reduce the baking time accordingly.