We all have our vices, particularly when we’re feeling really down or stressed out. My main vice is, and always has been, fried chicken. When I was in elementary school, I took fried chicken every single day for lunch until someone told me that I was going to turn into a chicken. I was so embarrassed that I never took it again. Silly, I know, but a good thing, or I might have had a heart attack already. I’m a little curious how I’ve avoided that as is. That’s why tonight’s version of fried chicken is more comfortable; I don’t live in fear of a coronary.
Today is not one of those down or stressed out days, so I guess I didn’t have to turn to comfort food, but I had buttermilk left from last week’s roasted nectarines with sweet buttermilk sauce, and one of my goals with notjustacarnivore is to stop wasting so much food, so I figured I should use it. There’s a really great looking recipe in Cooking Light: Way to Cook, for oven baked buttermilk fried chicken, so I figured, I need to use my buttermilk, why not try it out?
Now, if I’m being totally honest, it’s not Publix fried chicken. But it was really good, and for not actually being fried, it has a lot of characteristics of fried chicken. The crust really was crisp and tasty and the chicken was juicy and flaky. We really enjoyed it.
The Dinner Process
Crushed Crackers
Talk about comfort food! You can crush the crackers pretty well with your hands, but if you need to relieve some stress, throw another paper towel on top and release some of your frustration with a meat tenderizer.
I mixed the crackers with all-purpose flour. I know I could’ve made it healthier by using wheat flour, but I’d already sacrificed the actual frying of the chicken, so I stuck with regular flour this time. Then I set up an assembly line with the buttermilk and the cutting board, mixed the chicken, and into the pan it went with about 2 tbsps. of melted butter earth balance.
Browning the crust on the meat side.
About 4 minutes in the pan to brown the crust, then flip the chicken and into the oven.
Fun Fact: All-Clad cookware products are all oven-safe. (Do not broil non-stick pans)
Side Item/Side Note
I didn’t feel like making a side item, so I gave this a try.
Verdict? Edible, but not recommended.
The Final Product
Let’s pretend that quick photo was enough time for the chicken to cook.
Excellent Not-Fried Chicken
Good thing I ate such a variety of fruits (and a few veggies) today, because with the not-so-great butternut squash souffle as the only side item, tonight I pretty much was just a carnivore.
