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.

Roasted Pork

 

The holidays always bring about thoughts of the traditional dishes my Cuban family eats for our get-togethers. I’ve already posted a great recipe for black beans (see recipe here), which are the perfect side dish for roasted pork. There is nothing like having a roasted pork accompanied by black beans, yucca, white rice, fufu (mashed plantains), and shrimp served during my family’s Christmas Eve meal. Roasted pork actually makes a great meal at any time of the year, not just special occasions. It also is not too difficult to make. Most of the time is spent in the cooking process, which allows you time to make other side dishes, or complete other tasks/recreation while waiting for the pork to cook. However, the amazing flavor produced by the mixture of cooking wine, garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, salt and lime combined with the tenderness of the pork make this recipe worth trying!  

Roasted Pork Recipe 

INGREDIENTS:

• Pork shoulder about 3 lbs
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 tablespoons of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• ¾ tsp of garlic powder
• 1 cup of white wine
• ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of whole oregano
• ½ tablespoon of salt
• Juice of one lime

TOOLS NEEDED:

• Knife, cutting board, a medium bowl, cooking tray, aluminum tray, and aluminum foil.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION / INSTRUCTIONS                       
                       

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

1. Collect and prepare a few of the ingredients. Slice the onion 1/8 inch thick. Juice the lime. Finely chop the garlic with a knife or use a garlic press. Then in a large bowl put the cooking wine, lime juice, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, chopped garlic, and onion slices.
2. Next, take the meat and use a knife to poke holes in the meat. Make sure the holes are deep enough to go across the meat. Now score the skin with a sharp knife in a cross-hatch pattern and place the port in a cooking tray (I used a glass Pyrex tray). Then put some of the cooking wine-onion-garlic-seasoning mixture into the holes you cut and spoon the remaining mixture onto the meat and around the bottom of the tray (See video demonstration for a visual; you can also use an injector to do this step). Lastly, pat the skin of the pork dry with a paper towel, and rub a ½ tablespoon of salt over the skin and the meat (See the video for a visual).
3. Now, cover the tray with the pork with aluminum foil or an aluminum tray. Place the tray in the middle of a preheated oven 365° F and cook for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour uncover the meat, leaving the skin exposed and cover the pork meat with aluminum foil. Remove some of the condiments on the bottom of the tray and save for later in the cooking process. Then put back in the oven, and let cook for another hour.
5. Next, take the pork out of the oven and carefully cut the skin from the pork meat and cut the meat off the bone in slices or chunks. Then place the cut pork back in the tray, spoon the saved cooking wine-onion mixture over the meat, and then lay the skin on top, so it is covering the meat. Raise the oven temperature to 375° F and cook for 30 minutes.
6. By this point, the pork meat will be done and will be ready to serve. Remove the tray from the oven and place the skin on a separate tray so it can be put back into the oven for 30 minutes or until the fat has rendered and the skin is crispy. Then the skin can be served.