All the flavour and crunch of Southern fried chicken…but made a whole lot healthier by baking! I love this SOUTHERN OVEN “FRIED” CHICKEN!
This is how the conversation went when my friend saw me editing these photos.
“Oooh! Fried Chicken – YUM!, he exclaimed.
“Nope, not fried. Baked,” I said smugly.
“Bollocks,” he retorted. “Are you being dodgy with your photos? Did you pick up KFC?”
“As if!!!”, I exclaimed, indignantly. “You know me better than that!!! I swear, this is made in the oven!”
“Seriously??” he said. “You swear – you made these in the oven?”
YES. I swear. These are made in the oven. Are you as amazed as he was??
As insulted as I was that he would question my integrity, I was busting to prove that I wasn’t lying (let’s be honest, I just wanted to say “See? I TOLD YOU SO!”) so I made it again the next day. Not that it was any sort of hardship, having to make it again. I could seriously eat this every day.
Because, my friends, the plain fact is this: I love fried foods. I have a theory that anything is made delicious by frying it. And I can’t think of any fried food that I wouldn’t happily munch on.
But as much as I love fried foods….I hate deep frying myself. Partly because I have a fear of frying (at my very core, I am quite a klutz) and also because I feel like it’s a waste of oil.
So I have many baked versions of classic fried foods. This is one of my favorites, along with my KFC Oven Fried Chicken Tenders (seriously – tastes just like KFC!).
Don’t skip the marinating! It’s key to get flavour into the flesh of the chicken. Promise me you won’t skip it!
Ingredients
- 2 - 2.5 lb chicken thighs bone in
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne peper optional
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt & pepper
Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk
Dredge
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp milk
Coating
- 1 cup bread crumbs plain, not panko
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine Spice Mix ingredients.
- Add half Spice Mix into the Buttermilk in a ziplock bag. Add chicken and marinate overnight, up to 24 hours.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine remaining Spice Mix with Coating in a bowl.
- Whisk eggs and milk in another bowl.
- Remove chicken from buttermilk, shaking off excess. Dip piece into egg, then coat in Coating. Shake off excess. Place on tray. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until deep golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, I think you’ll love these crunchy Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken Tenders!
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Sandra martin says
I am making this got it marinating in the fridge,
mary thowe says
do you have the nutrition make up on this chicken?
Aubrey Cota says
You should now see the nutritional facts at the end of the recipe.