Oven - Fried Chicken

This way of cooking chicken is a great way to fill that craving for fried chicken without all the added oil, fat, and calories.  The outcome is tender, moist chicken with a crisp outer crust and lots of flavor.  I've been making this quite a bit lately.  It's just so good, and soooo easy!  Now, check out my new electric salt mill...I mean, Jereme's.  It was the perfect gift for his birthday!  The salt and pepper mills have a little light shining down on your food as you push a button and your spices are ground with very little effort.  For men who love to cook, it's the ultimate power tool in the kitchen!

The chicken is soaked in buttermilk for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours, whatever you have time for.  I found on the Eating Well web site that if you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute one cup of regular milk and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to "sour" the milk.  That's exactly what I did, and I loved it!  For the coating, I used crispy Panko breadcrumbs.  I never use any other kind because these are so light and airy with a nice crunch.

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken legs or boneless, skinless thighs
• 1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup of parmesan, optional
• Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon of Louisian hot sauce
• Canola oil spray

Directions:

1. Pour one cup of milk into a measuring cup.  Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar with the mustard, hot sauce, and garlic.  Mix well.
2. Place the chicken into a large sealable bag.  Add the milk mixture.  Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Place the Panko into a small dredging dish.  Add the parmesan, then the seasonings to taste.
5. Prepare a pan by lining it with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Place a rack on top of it, then spray the rack with oil.
6. Dredge the chicken in the panko mixture, coating it well.  Place on top of the rack.  Spray the chicken with a light film of canola oil.
7. Cook 40 - 50 minutes or until done.

(Tip:  If you have leftovers, just wrap in foil.  To reheat the next day, place the chicken onto a pizza crisper pan that has holes in it, then convection roast it at 425 degrees for 6 minutes.  The outside is perfectly crispy again, and the inside is warmed again all the way through.)