Super Crispy Oven “Fried” Chicken

Who doesn’t love fried chicken? The only problem is it is messy to make with the hot oil etc… I decided there must be a way to make oven “fried” chicken super crispy. 

I took some time and thought about how to best make a coating and how to get things hot enough to crisp it up without burning it. My method really worked great! The tops and bottom of each chicken piece were perfectly crisp and the chicken stayed juicy and tender, thanks to the buttermilk.

Seasoning each layer of the coating is the trick to getting really flavorful chicken, so remember to season well!

What you need,

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6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs

2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup flour, seasoned with 1 tsp. season salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. paprika, ½ tsp. ground sage, ½ tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder

2 eggs, whisked, seasoned with 1 tsp. season salt, 1 tsp. black pepper and ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup bread crumbs + 1 cup panko crumbs seasoned with 1 tsp. season salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. paprika, ½ tsp. ground sage, ½ tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. canola oil

Olive oil spray

Trim the chicken thighs of any excess fat, I kept just enough to cover the meat, no extra hanging over.

In a large zip top bag combine the buttermilk with the seasoning salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Add the thighs and seal up the bag. Let it marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours.

Put a tablespoon of canola oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place it in the oven on the lowest rack and heat your oven to 400 degrees, with the pan in it. Heating it like this will ensure the chicken gets crispy on the bottom too!

Set up a dredge station with the flour in one shallow dish, the eggs in another and finally the bread crumb/panko mixture in a third.

Shake off the excess buttermilk from each piece of chicken then roll it in the flour mixture. Tap off any excess flour and roll each piece in the egg to coat. Shaking off the excess egg, coat each piece of chicken with the crumbs, pressing to adhere the crumbs well.

Place the coated chicken onto a plate until the oven comes to temperature.

Place each chicken onto the hot pan carefully, and then spray the top of each chicken piece lightly with the olive oil spray. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is brown and crisp and cooked through.

I served my super crispy chicken with buttermilk mashed potatoes and my new favourite sweet kale salad!

This dinner was AH-MAZING‼ The chicken was so crisp and had so many flavors, it was perfect!

Even the left overs were fantastic!

Enjoy!

Jen