Everything is better with a Ritz cracker – raw oysters, smoked salmon, cheese spreads and especially peanut butter. I also use Ritz crackers instead of breading or cracker meal when frying foods.
Last week, I was at Kroger’s trying to come up with a tasty meal that would not add weight to my bathroom scales the following morning when I saw a package of boneless, skinless thighs for about four bucks. There were 7 thighs in the package, enough for dinner for two with a leftover or two for lunch the next day. I know that thighs are the most fattening piece of the chicken, but they sure taste good, and without the skin, they are not too hard on a diet. So I bought them with an intent to fry. As we all know, every now and then, diet or no diet, it’s important to fry a little chicken.
I reached first for my House Autry breading, then remembered I also had a partial box of Ritz crackers in the cabinet. So I crumbled up a bowlful of the tasty crackers, dipped the chicken in an egg and milk wash and fried the chicken thighs. They were delicious. I ate two for dinner and actually lost a bit of weight the next morning.
Here’s how I cooked this simple, delicious recipe.
Ritzy Chicken Thighs
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 to 3 pieces per person)
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers
1 cup of milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Canola oil to cover bottom of frying pan
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely crumble the crackers in a large bowl and add garlic salt, salt and pepper. Beat the eggs and add the milk in a separate bowl. Rinse and pat the thighs with a paper towel. Dip the thighs in the egg/milk wash and shake off the excess, Next, dip the thighs into the crumbs, pressing down firmly on each side till well coated.
Place the thighs in a medium hot frying pan with about a quarter-inch oil on the bottom and don’t crowd the pan. Fry the thighs to a crispy golden brown, turning as little as possible.
This is a delicious, inexpensive and reasonably healthy way to enjoy fried chicken.