You can call this oven-fried chicken or crunchy baked chicken or breaded chicken or any number of things. I like calling this dish Fake Fried Chicken because I feel like I'm getting away with something sneaky.
Panko is the secret to crunchiness without deep-frying. I've tried everything from straight bread crumbs to melba toasts whizzed in the food processor, and panko comes the closest to giving us the kind of crust that you can actually hear when you bite into it. There's no topping it.
You can also go two ways with this dish. Serve the entire thigh on a bed of wilted greens and you have a perfect mid-week meal. Cut those thighs into bite-sized pieces and you have the perfect party appetizer. I like to set little bowls of honey, honey-mustard, and ketchup nearby for easy dipping.
I like thighs here for their juiciness and rich flavor, but you could certainly go for drumsticks, wings, or even breasts. All of these will cook a little quicker than thighs. Start checking them after 10 minutes and then in 5 minute increments after that until they register 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Fake Fried Chicken
Serves 4-6
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8 whole thighs)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon oregano
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
splash of milk or buttermilk
splash of hot sauce (optional)
1 cup panko crumbs
Honey or ketchup for serving
Heat the oven to 425°F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Remove the thighs from their packaging. If desired, cut into "nugget" bite-sized pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oregano, dijon, salt, and pepper. Add a splash of milk to loosen it a little. Pour the panko crumbs in another small bowl.
Dip each chicken thigh in the egg mixture and gently shake off the extra. Roll the thigh in the panko and set it on the wire rack over the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs.
Bake for 35-40 minutes for whole thighs or 15-20 minutes for bites. When the thighs are finished, the tops should just be starting to turn golden, juices from the thigh should run clear, and the internal temperature should register at least 165°F.
Serve immediately with bowls of honey and ketchup for dipping.
Related: Weekend Meditation: Fear of Frying
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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Comments (11)
The last time I tried making fake fried chicken, it was from a Martha Stewart recipe. I bought all kinds of ingredients and when I took my first bite, I realized that I had just made homemade shake-n-bake. This recipe looks much better!
This does look good, but I just had transcendently good fried chicken at Gus's in Memphis, and this just ain't worth it. I'd rather eat their real fried chicken once every five years and know I'm getting the real, bad thing. I won't tell you how many pieces my family put away...ok, 30 pieces for 5 people. I'm so glad I don't live there, I don't know what I would do.
I used to make oven-fried chicken, but soaked the chicken in buttermilk + hot sauce + salt and pepper for about 15 minutes, then covered it in breading (panko OR risotto rice ground in your coffee grinder to a flour), sprayed them with a PAM-type spray (I use an oil pump and filled it with my own olive or canola oil), then baked it immediately before the oil spray settles into the breading. That'll make it even crispier yet the additional amount of oil isn't enough to make it really fattening (you can dry off what wasn't cooked or absorbed). Then we served ours with lemon wedges or a roasted red pepper sauce. I don't eat chicken any longer, so I've been trying the same method with veggies (especially thick slices of portobello mushrooms hoping to approximate a local restaurant's appetizer), while it's not the equivalent of fried in terms of crunchiness it's still crunchy so the perfect answer for us.
get it girl! this looks good if i ate chicken :) love me the panko!! lets douse it all over all of our foods.
Leela, you're a hoot! Thanks. :)
Rucy, I love the idea of spraying a little extra oil over the top. You're right - not much extra fat, but an even more crispy texture. And I'm guessing, a more golden color.
My mom used to do this with crushed corn flakes instead of panko.
Panko is wonderful stuff! Thanks for introducing me to it! My friends always find it slightly funny that I'm buying imported Japanese breadcrumbs, but what do they know?
Whenever I bake breaded chicken like that i always toast the panko in a pan that has been lightly oiled before setting up the dredging station. It turns golden brown and tastes so much better, it's really worth the extra step. I like this egg mixture combo, I'll have to try a little dijon in there next time.
@EMMA CHRISTENSEN, thanks, yes, both crispier and more golden. I also used to set the oven to broil, for the last 2 minutes, just to make sure it crisped as much as possible (oven ajar and watching carefully since every 10 seconds will make a difference with the broiler). In very short order, using this method, we came to genuinely prefer oven 'fried' over oil fried.
Thank you for this recipe. I've made it twice now and my family and I really enjoy it! It's the crispiest, closest-to-fried-chicken tasting baked chicken I've made. Not only is the panko great for the crunch but I really love how much flavor the chicken has with everything in that egg dip (though I do go light on the oregano). When I dip the cooked chicken in ketup and close my eyes, it really tastes like I'm eating fried chicken. : ) I'll be making it often!
Looks great. Can you make it with chicken breasts?