Fried Chicken - sans the "Fatty, fatty, 2x4 feeling".

              Hello fatties. This is one of my FAVORITE recipes. I had heard of oven fried chicken for some time, but never attempted to make it. It was in March or April, towards the end of the cherry blossom season and I came to DC to visit Donnell. We went over to his friends Narda & Malik's house for supper the last night I was in town. Narda served her EXCELLENT oven fried chicken, and I have been trying to recreate it ever since. I tried to get creative and make up my own recipe, but the truth is Narda's chicken is the best oven fried chicken there is. I have made a few modifications, but not much. And I know a lot of people tend to prefer white meat, but that's a bunch of nonsense. It takes a long time to bake in the oven, and so you need the fat content from the dark meat to keep it from drying out. This would go very well with my recipe for Healthier Collard Greens and big bowl of mashed potatoes! Also, if you don't eat this chicken with Crystal's hot sauce, you're doing yourself a disservice!

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

Ingredients 

• 12 chicken drumstick 
• 3 t0 4 cups buttermilk  
• 1 cup hot sauce (Crystal’s, preferably)

• All purpose seasoning (Lawry’s, Tony Chachere’s, Goya’s Adobo or the like)
• Salt 
• Pepper 
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• 3to 4 cups of all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• Nonstick Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 400˚

Now, if you want your chicken to be extra juicy and flavorful, follow this first step. It is not mandatory, the chicken will still be delicious. 

Note - You can use any cut of chicken, but they won’t all cook the same. White meat will dry out on you, so its best to use dark meat, bone in. 

Marinade 

• In a large bowl, mix buttermilk and hot sauce. 
• Place in either a large bowl, large plastic sack or a large Tupperware
• Add chicken and make sure the chicken is fully submerged. Cover or seal well.
• Allow chicken to sit anywhere from 4 hours - overnight. 

Chicken 

- Be careful with the seasonings. I don’t measure out the spices, and all you need to do is make sure that the chicken in entirely covered. Go easy with the salt, the Adobo I use already has some salt in it. 

4- Place the flour in a pie tin. 

5- In a bowel, crack the eggs and beat well.

6- Line two large cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with a generous layer of the cooking spray. 

 7- Dip the chicken in egg and shake off the excess. Then dredge the chicken in the flour, and coat evenly. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THE ALL THE EXCESS FLOUR IS KNOCKED OFF. A light layer of flour is essential to making sure the skin crisps up properly. 

8- Lay each piece of chicken on the cookie sheets. Take the cooking spray and spray the chicken well, making sure that no flour is left exposed and white. 

9- Place pans in oven, with plenty of space in between the racks. 

10- Allow to bake for about 15-20 minutes. After that, check on the chicken. Turn the chicken every few minutes. After the first time you turn the chicken, apply a little more cooking spray to keep the frying process going. 

10- Bake for another 15-20 minutes. Internal temperature needs to reach 165˚ or you can cut the chicken to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. 

11- Make sure to have plenty of Crystal’s hot sauce on hand to serve with the chicken! 

1- If you marinated the chicken, drain the buttermilk away using a colander. 

2- Lay out several layers of paper towels and lay chicken down, pat dry. 

3- Sprinkle the chicken with the all purpose seasoning (I use Goya’s Adobo), garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. Coat evenly. 

- Be careful with the seasonings. I dalt, the Adobo I use already has some salt in it. 

4- Place the flour in a pie tin. 

5- In a bowl, crack the eggs and beat well.

6- Line two large cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with a generous layer of the cooking spray. 

 7- Dip the chicken in egg and shake off the excess. Then dredge the chicken in the flour, and coat evenly. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THE ALL THE EXCESS FLOUR IS KNOCKED OFF. A light layer of flour is essential to making sure the skin crisps up properly. 

8- Lay each piece of chicken on the cookie sheets. Take the cooking spray and spray the chicken well, making sure that no flour is left exposed and white. 

9- Place pans in oven, with plenty of space in between the racks. 

10- Allow to bake for about 15-20 minutes. After that, check on the chicken. Turn the chicken every few minutes. After the first time you turn the chicken, apply a little more cooking spray to keep the frying process going. 

10- Bake for another 15-20 minutes. Internal temperature needs to reach 165˚ or you can cut the chicken to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. 

11- Make sure to have plenty of Crystal’s hot sauce on hand to serve with the chicken!