Fried chicken!
There, I’ve said it and now, if you’re like me, once the thought of succulent, crispy hot and oozing-with-goodness fried chicken gets in your mind – it’s over. You simply must have fried chicken for dinner. Probably that night.
Fried chicken is one of the tastiest dishes of all, but it’s an artery clog waiting to happen. Unless you can make do with one piece of fried chicken, you will gain weight, and who can eat only one piece of fried chicken? It’s been tried millions of times and no one has ever been successful. You end up eating two pieces, maybe a thigh and a breast, but then pick up a wing, eat that and you can’t leave that one small leg in the bottom of the dish. So you eat that too.
Poof. You just gained three pounds.
I have a substitute for fried chicken that’s a lot healthier and almost as good. It involves oven baking and a breakfast food – cereal. Corn Flakes to be exact.
To achieve the crispness of a perfectly fried piece of chicken, Corn Flakes is an ideal breading. I like to use split chicken breasts with the skin on and bone-in for maximum flavor but minimum damage to a diet.
Here’s how I do it.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides of the breasts. Go easy on the garlic, a sprinkle will do. Crush the Corn Flakes and blend with melted butter. Mix the egg and buttermilk and dip the breasts before rolling in the Corn Flakes/butter mixture. Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press a little more of the crust on top. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Do not overcook so the chicken will be juicy as well as crunchy. It’s pretty good chicken – not as good the Wayside Deli, but close enough for government work.
Healthy Oven Baked Fried Chicken
4 slit chicken breasts, skin on, bone in
3 cups corn flakes
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons buttermilk
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder