kwillia
n/a
Oven Fried Chicken LINK
Fried chicken is a prime candidate for a healthy makeover. We decreased the calories and fat by almost half with the following changes:
The first step was to remove the skin, since that contains the most fat.
Second was to bake the pieces. We knew we would be halfway home simply by changing the cooking technique, but then had to create a faux fried texture.
We sampled many different coatings, from bread crumbs (even Japanese panko) to cereals of all types, falafel mix, crackers and crushed corn chips. We liked the flavor that a corn and rice cereal added and the crispiness a dry bread-cracker (like bagel chips or Melba toasts) gave the chicken, so we combined the two for a tasty, crispy coating.
Getting the coating to stick was another matter — we tried buttermilk, egg white, plain milk and yogurt coatings. A light brushing of low fat mayonnaise finally did the trick. Not only did the mayonnaise make the coating stick, it mirrored the texture of the removed skin. The combination coating, with a hint of mustard in the mayonnaise, garnered rave reviews from all tasters.
1 1/3 cups rice-corn crispy cereal, (recommended: Crispex)
2 1/4 cups broken bagel chips or melba toast
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (about 6 ounces each) See Cook's Note
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set a rack on a foil lined baking sheet. Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.
Finely grind the cereal and toasts together in a food processor. Transfer crumbs to a large gallon size plastic bag. Add the oil, salt, cayenne, paprika, and ground pepper and toss to mix thoroughly. Whisk the light mayonnaise and Dijon mustard together in a medium shallow bowl. Add chicken to mayonnaise and turn to coat all the pieces evenly. Drop the chicken into the plastic bag, seal and shake until each piece is evenly coated. Place coated pieces on the prepared rack. Spray the chicken pieces evenly with cooking spray, and bake until the coating crisps and browns and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the pieces registers 160 degrees F, 35 to 40 minutes.
Transfer to a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.
Cook's note:
We like to cook the chicken on the bone for a real moist and juicy chicken experience. If you can't find bone-in skinless chicken, simply pull off the skin before coating. Chicken breast halves can be quite large. To get a healthy 6 ounce portion, cut the breast pieces crosswise with a heavy knife into pieces about the same size as a chicken thigh.
Fried chicken is a prime candidate for a healthy makeover. We decreased the calories and fat by almost half with the following changes:
The first step was to remove the skin, since that contains the most fat.
Second was to bake the pieces. We knew we would be halfway home simply by changing the cooking technique, but then had to create a faux fried texture.
We sampled many different coatings, from bread crumbs (even Japanese panko) to cereals of all types, falafel mix, crackers and crushed corn chips. We liked the flavor that a corn and rice cereal added and the crispiness a dry bread-cracker (like bagel chips or Melba toasts) gave the chicken, so we combined the two for a tasty, crispy coating.
Getting the coating to stick was another matter — we tried buttermilk, egg white, plain milk and yogurt coatings. A light brushing of low fat mayonnaise finally did the trick. Not only did the mayonnaise make the coating stick, it mirrored the texture of the removed skin. The combination coating, with a hint of mustard in the mayonnaise, garnered rave reviews from all tasters.
1 1/3 cups rice-corn crispy cereal, (recommended: Crispex)
2 1/4 cups broken bagel chips or melba toast
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (about 6 ounces each) See Cook's Note
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set a rack on a foil lined baking sheet. Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.
Finely grind the cereal and toasts together in a food processor. Transfer crumbs to a large gallon size plastic bag. Add the oil, salt, cayenne, paprika, and ground pepper and toss to mix thoroughly. Whisk the light mayonnaise and Dijon mustard together in a medium shallow bowl. Add chicken to mayonnaise and turn to coat all the pieces evenly. Drop the chicken into the plastic bag, seal and shake until each piece is evenly coated. Place coated pieces on the prepared rack. Spray the chicken pieces evenly with cooking spray, and bake until the coating crisps and browns and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the pieces registers 160 degrees F, 35 to 40 minutes.
Transfer to a platter and serve hot or at room temperature.
Cook's note:
We like to cook the chicken on the bone for a real moist and juicy chicken experience. If you can't find bone-in skinless chicken, simply pull off the skin before coating. Chicken breast halves can be quite large. To get a healthy 6 ounce portion, cut the breast pieces crosswise with a heavy knife into pieces about the same size as a chicken thigh.
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