Best Baked "Fried" Chicken

By Sharon T

Crispy chicken marinated in spiced buttermilk then breaded with flour, panko, cornmeal and spices then baked in a little butter for the BEST Baked “Fried” Chicken!

Ingredients

• 10 chicken tenderloins
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Spice Mixture
• 1 tablespoon salt (it won't taste salty)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (may sub. regular)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from carlsbadcravings.com

Preparation

Step 1

Mix Spices together in a small sealable bag. Add 1 tablespoon Spices, 1 cup buttermilk and chicken to a large freezer bag and marinate 6-24 hours. Store remaining spices.
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper (foil will NOT work because the chicken sticks to it). Add butter to baking tray and melt in oven while it preheats. Remove baking tray once butter is melted.
Mix together flour, panko, cornmeal and remaining spices in a large bowl. Add half of this breading mixture to a large freezer bag.
Remove chicken tenders from buttermilk and allow excess marinade to drip off (I line my sink with paper towels then dab the chicken with paper towels as I add them to the breadcrumb mixture.)
Add half of the chicken to the breadcrumb bag and shake until well coated, pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken with your fingers through the bag. Lay breaded chicken in butter on baking tray. Add remaining breadcrumb mixture to bag along with remaining chicken and repeat.
Bake at 400F degrees for 10-12 minutes until golden then carefully flip chicken and bake another 5 minutes then broil to desired crispiness.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!