How to Make Deliciously Faux-Fried Chicken

As much as we’d all love to dive into a bucket of glistening fried chicken on the regular, we know that eating the bird in other forms is generally a healthier bet. But not all hope is lost: With the right recipe, baking can elicit the same desirable crunch as the deep fryer. Here are three.

Oven Fried Chicken (pictured above)

Marinate a mess of chicken legs and thighs in an uplifting blend of lemon zest, milk, sugar, cayenne, rosemary and garlic cloves. When the pieces are nice and chilled from a two-hour refrigerator session, shroud them in a mix of baked whole-wheat breadcrumbs and yellow cornmeal. Then, for a savory finish, get some Parmesan and chopped rosemary up in there.

oven-fried-chicken-recipe

Photo by: Marshall Troy ©2012,Cooking Channel,LLC

Marshall Troy, 2012,Cooking Channel,LLC

Sink your teeth into a crisp coating of corn-cereal flakes and crushed whole-grain salted crackers, laced with sesame seeds and cayenne. Submerging the skinless breasts and thighs in egg whites, low-fat yogurt and Dijon mustard will ensure the meat underneath is at its juicy best.

This zippy, spiced version comes courtesy of dipping these boneless, skinless breasts in a bath of buttermilk and Louisiana Hot Sauce, and then dredging the chicken in multigrain panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Right before parts hit the plate, brighten them with a squirt of fresh lemon.

Alia Akkam is a New York-based writer who covers the intersection of food, drink, travel and design. She launched her career by opening boxes of Jamie Oliver books as a Food Network intern.

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