March 23, 2015
I recall my mom making this Oven Fried Chicken when I was probably 10 or 11 years old. We knew then that KFC was deilcious but not very good for us – so the idea of a healtlhier version of fried chicken was brilliant. The recipe was given to my mom by her friend Laura Yahner. Subsequently, we always called it Laura’s Chicken. I have made this for family, friends and large church gatherings. It is simple to make and easy to bake – and delicious!

In today’s terms, this dish is not particularly healthy as it is not low fat – but served with healthy side dishes it is a fine protein main dish. I could call it another staple star since it uses pantry ingredients that I keep on hand. Powdered Italian Salad Dressing mix (Good Seasons or grocery store house brands are fine) and bread crumbs. For the oil – butter, olive oil or a vegetable oil can be used by themselves or in combination. I used some of each when I made this last week. I like to cut off some of the skin from chicken legs to reduce some of the fat so that you can enjoy the crunchy crumb topping filled with flavor and not feel so bad about eating all of the outer skin. I typically use chicken legs and/or thighs – but breasts could easily be used too. If you have large breasts, I suggest cutting them in half so they cook evenly and you get plenty of coating on each.

simple set of ingredients and easy process

I use a shallow bowl each for the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. One holds bread crumbs and the seasoning, and the other holds the oils. I also suggest covering a baking sheet with at least a 1″ depth (I use a jelly roll pan) with foil to make the clean up much easier. Dip each piece of chicken in the oil, then roll each piece in the seasoned bread crumbs. Place on the baking sheet, trying to leave space between each piece of chicken. Depending upon size of pieces, the chicken should cook and brown nicely in about 45 minutes.

Oven Fried Chicken

Serves 5-6

Preparation time 15 minutes.

Ingredients

10-12 pieces of chicken (legs, thighs, breasts or combination)
1 pouch good seasons or other italian salad dressing seasoning
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups oil (melted butter, olive oil or vegetable oil in combination)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375′.

Line jelly roll pan with large piece of foil.

In one shallow bowl combine breadcrumbs and seasoning mix. Stir well to incorporate.

In another shallow bowl combine oils. If using butter, melt it before adding other oils.

Rinse chicken under cold water. Remove excess fat and large pieces of skin and pat dry. Dip each piece in oil first, then into breadcrumb mixture. Space pieces out on baking sheet so they are not touching.

Bake chicken for 45 -55 minutes until all pieces are golden brown and cooked through. A thermometer can be used to check that internal temp is at least 165′.

 

Notes