Does anyone remember the liquid diet? People lost quite a bit of weight, but they didn't eat a thing. I haven't heard about it in a long time, so maybe it finally disappeared. One of my friends who went on that diet told me that the day it ended, she zigzagged up and down the street buying fried chicken to eat. I was surprised by her choice. After months of not eating, I think I might have gone for ice cream and cherry pie. Her story reminds me how much we love fried chicken. To be honest, I don't eat it often. Instead, I'm always searching for baked "fried chicken" recipes. There are a million ways to make it like panko, corn flakes or bread crumbs. Lately though, I've seen the same claim over and over again. Potato chips make the best oven-fried chicken.
As luck had it, I saw a recipe for Tyler Florence's oven-fried chicken shortly before a trip to the grocery store. It recommended using thick cut potato chips. Okay, I was game! Time to try it.
Tyler's recipe makes a bucket full of chicken. 12 pieces, in fact. I cut the ingredients way back and made two boneless chicken breasts. I even cut those in half because chicken breasts have gotten so ridiculously large. This recipe makes about two servings.
PROS
- It's so simple and fast, you can whip this up in a snap.
- It's good.
- It's crunchy. The potato chips stay crunchy, even when cold.
- The chicken is wonderfully tender.
- It's not fried.
- Except for the chicken and potato chips, the recipe relies on standard pantry items.
- If you're having a bad day, smashing the chips may be therapeutic.
- It's much faster and less hassle than frying.
CONS
- No one will mistake this for oil-fried chicken.
- Potato chips have a lot of calories and fat. Not sure there's a big gain over frying.
- It relies on a lot of salt.
Oven Fried Chicken
the Tyler Florence way
canola oil
1/3 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup flour plus 1 tablespoon flour (separated)
4 ounces potato chips
Kosher salt
pepper
2 large boneless chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 400.
Spritz or rub canola oil on a rack set over a baking tray. Whisk the mustard into the milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup flour into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Crush the potato chips in the bag. Pour them into a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of flour. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the chicken breasts in half. Season with salt and pepper. Dust each piece of chicken with the flour, dip into milk, and press into potato chips. Lay chicken pieces on the rack. Bake 20 minutes.
 |
| Before baking. |
 |
| Nice and crunchy. |
 |
| Moist inside. |
