Oven Baked Chicken

There is just something extremely appetizing and comforting about fried chicken, especially when the chicken is moist with crispy skin! I love fried chicken just as much as the next person, which makes it quite difficult to decline if you are dieting. Unfortunately, with fried chicken, you get a good amount of extra oil and fats added to the chicken, and that makes it very difficult to work into a diet plan. When I was dieting, I came up with a number of ways to eat foods I liked by altering the recipes to cut out unnecessary carbohydrates or fats to reduce the calories I was eating. This baked chicken recipe is one of those recipes. Not only is this chicken incredibly flavorful, the meat is also extremely moist, and the coating is extra crispy! The recipe is also very simple and uses just a few ingredients, so have fun trying this recipe and enjoy!

Oven Baked Chicken Recipe 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs of chicken (I used leg quarters cut into legs and thighs)
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups of seasoned breadcrumb or you can use plain breadcrumb and add in some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder (or whatever seasoning you want. You can season it the same way you would fried chicken).
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of milk

TOOLS NEEDED:

• Knife, cutting board, two 2-inch deep dishes, 1 or 2 cooking trays, whisk or fork to mix, and large spoon.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION / INSTRUCTIONS         

                                                                           

BRIEF DIRECTIONS (See the video demonstration for detailed instructions):

1. Collect ingredients. First, prepare the chicken. If using leg quarters, cut into legs and thighs. You can use precut chicken or chicken breast if you want. Then sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on the chicken. I do this in a bowl and mix the chicken with my hand to make sure the salt is evenly distributed on the chicken.
2. In another dish (at least 2 inches deep), put the eggs, milk, and a pinch of salt together and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork. Then place the breadcrumb in another tray or dish at least 2 inches deep. If using plain breadcrumb season with a few tablespoons of Italian seasoning, a teaspoon of onion powder and ½ a teaspoon of garlic powder (or get creative and use whatever seasonings you wish).
3. Now set up a breading station with egg-milk mixture, the breadcrumb dish, and trays for cooking the chicken. Then dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture and coat thoroughly, allowing excess egg-milk to drip off the chicken before transferring the piece of chicken to the breadcrumb dish. Next, thoroughly coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs and really press the breadcrumbs on the chicken. Return the chicken to the egg mixture to coat the chicken a second time, then transfer the chicken to the breadcrumb. When you coat the chicken piece twice, transfer it to the cooking tray and repeat the process for the rest of the chicken.
4. Once all of the chicken is coated twice, use the remaining egg and breadcrumb to coat the chicken a third time coating it with the egg first then the breadcrumb. You can use additional breadcrumb if necessary or if you run low on the egg mixture just add in a little bit of milk or another egg. Once finished coating the chicken a third time, let the chicken sit for 10 to 15 minutes on the counter. This will allow the chicken to dry a bit, which is important for ensuring the chicken gets really crispy when cooking later on. Preheat the oven to 365°F while you wait.
5. After resting the chicken for 10 to 15 minutes, you can put the chicken your preheated 365° F oven and cook for 1 hour or until the chicken is golden brown. If necessary, you can cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes to brown the outside of the chicken.  Once finished remove the chicken from the oven and serve.