Oven Fried Chicken
OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN BREASTS
Published July 15, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.
Serves 4.
Although we like to use bone-in chicken for this recipe, you can substitute 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and reduce the cooking time to 25 minutes. This recipe was printed in our cookbook The Best Light Recipe.
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
- 1 box plain Melba toast (about 5 ounces), broken into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 split bone-in chicken breasts (about 10 ounces each), trimmed following the illustration below and skin removed
- Vegetable cooking spray
Preparation
Step 1
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Process the Melba toast into coarse crumbs in a food processor, about twelve 1-second pulses. Spread the crumbs in a shallow dish and toss with the oil.
2. In a separate shallow dish, whisk the egg whites, mustard, thyme, garlic powder, and cayenne together.
3. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Working with one piece of chicken at time, dip it into the egg white mixture, then coat with the Melba crumbs. Press on the Melba crumbs to make sure they adhere to the chicken. Lay the chicken on the wire rack and spray the tops with vegetable oil spray.
4. Bake until the coating is golden, the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
Per serving: Cal 460; Fat 11 g; Sat fat 1.5 g; Chol 130 mg; Carb 28 g; Protein 59 g; Fiber 2 g; Sodium 720 mg
TECHNIQUE
Trimming Split Chicken Breasts
Using kitchen shears, trim off the rib sections from each breast following the vertical line of fat from the tapered end of the breast up to the socket where the wing is attached.