Chicken - Oven Fried

By mariannefeldman

Oven-Fried Chicken
All the crunch of deep-fried chicken with just a quarter of the fat.

By America's Test Kitchen | April 9, 2013



BEFORE
Calories: 720
Fat: 42g
Saturated Fat: 10g
(Before Numbers Based on: Original Recipe
Fried Chicken from KFC)

AFTER
Calories: 450
Fat: 10g
Saturated Fat: 2g

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: The first thing that comes to mind when we think of fried chicken is the shatteringly crisp, ultra-crunchy coating. But one serving of this American classic can weigh in at over 700 calories and 40 grams of fat. To lighten this dish, we ditched the deep-fryer and turned to the oven instead. But would we still be able to get that same crunchy, craggy, golden exterior? After removing the fatty skin from our chicken breasts, we tried a number of potential coatings, including everything from homemade bread crumbs to Melba toast crumbs and even crushed potato and pita chips. Finally, we hit on cornflakes, which stayed crunchy and didn’t become soggy the way some of the others did. Garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and poultry seasoning (which adds several spices with just one ingredient) added flavor to the mild cereal, while buttermilk, whisked together with the egg whites, gave our chicken that distinctive buttermilk tang without racking up the fat grams. After coating the sides and top of the chicken, we baked it in a super-hot oven on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet—elevating the chicken allowed the hot air to circulate underneath so it cooked through evenly. Spraying the breaded chicken with vegetable oil spray before baking helped the cornflakes become ultra-crisp without adding much in the way of fat or calories. To crush the cornflakes, place them inside a zipper-lock bag and use a rolling pin or the bottom of a large skillet to break them into fine crumbs.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 cups (3 ounces) Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 (12-ounce) bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed, trimmed of all visible fat, and halved

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. In second shallow dish, whisk egg whites until foamy, then whisk in buttermilk and mustard. In third shallow dish, combine Corn Flakes, oil, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, poultry seasoning, and cayenne.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with 1 piece at a time and coating top and sides only, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg white mixture, then coat with Corn Flake mixture, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack with uncoated side of chicken facing down.

3. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until crumbs are golden and chicken registers 160 degrees, about 35 minutes. Serve.

PER SERVING (2 PIECES)
Cal 450, Fat 10g, Sat Fat 2g, Chol 145 mg, Carb 31g, Protein 55g, Fiber 1g, Sodium 1120mg

Find this and other favorites made lighter in our Comfort Food Makeovers cookbook.