Oven – grilled breaded chicken

If you like fried chicken but hate the frying part and the watching over the stove as the chicken cooks, the most convenient solution is to grill the chicken in the oven. For those of you who like your fried chicken with the skin on, oven grilling can make the skin crisp too — just check out my savory oven-grilled chicken and see for yourself. But is that possible with breaded chicken? You know, like Southern style fried chicken? Isn’t it the cooking oil that turns the breading crisp? So, if cooked in the oven without all that oil, the breading will just dry up, won’t it?

Oven-fried chicken with flour and cornmeal breading

Okay, first of all, the chicken skin contains fat. If the fat is absorbed by the breading, it is possible that it will turn out crisp. The problem, of course, is that no chicken part is a hundred per cent covered with fatty skin. A thigh, for instance, will have skin on one side but not on the underside. So, how can we make the breading evenly browned and crisp? Well, we use our imagination and get creative.

You marinate and coat your chicken as though you were preparing to fry them Southern style. But, instead of dropping them in hot oil, you lay them on a baking sheet lined with non-stick paper. Then, and here’s the important part, you brush them with softened butter. Not too much as you don’t want the bottoms soaked in oil, but just enough to moisten the breading on top and sides. Excess oil (including rendered fat) will drip to the bottom and take care of browning that part. See, if you rely on the skin fat alone, that will turn the breading on top crisp but not the breading on the bottom. By adding oil, you’re making sure that all parts get enough oil.

Now, you’re probably thinking… But that doesn’t make the chicken any healthier! Well, I never said it would. I’m just saving you the trouble of watching the chicken as they fry (and perspire in front of the stove). With oven grilling, you can just turn on the timer and come back when the chicken is done.

But, but… is there really no way of cutting down on bad fat? Okay, here’s a suggestion and this is what I did last night. Instead of brushing the chicken with butter, drizzle olive oil over them. For best results, use herb-infused olive oil. That gets rid of the transfat in the butter but you will end up with the same result — crisp coating. The bonus? Can you imagine how the cooked chicken smells with all that aromatic olive oil in the coating?

November 7, 2008  Print This Post   
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Comments

8 Responses to “Oven – grilled breaded chicken”
  1. Crisma says:
    November 7, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Woohooo! Another great one from you, Ms.Connie! I recall that this recipe or the approach at doing the recipe could be somehow inspired by Giada di Laurentiis’ cooking shows on HGTV— more because of the brilliant substitution of olive oil to cut down on bad fat. Thanks again!

    Reply
  2. Connie says:
    November 7, 2008 at 9:32 am

    I don’t watch Giada hehehe We don’t even have Lifestyle Channel. The downside is that there are findings that some commercially sold olive oil is not real olive oil. Read the olive oil scandal.

    Reply
  3. Mikky says:
    November 7, 2008 at 10:49 am

    great tip… a must try…

    Reply
  4. Crisma says:
    November 8, 2008 at 12:58 am

    Oh my gulay!!! I read the olive oil scandal, and thanks for that eye-opener Ms. Connie!
    Tama nga ang conclusion. “So who do we trust?” Anyway, thanks again for this creative way again to handle that bad fat problem about fried chicken.

    Reply
  5. Al says:
    November 9, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    Hi Ms. Connie!

    Is it possible to cook chicken like this in the microwave oven? I really want to make good use of our microwave oven. I wonder if it’s possible to cook there, or even bake using it.

    Sayang kasi sa ngayon, pang-init lang talaga siya ng ulam.

    Reply
  6. Connie says:
    November 10, 2008 at 8:07 am

    Al, that’s the reason we gave away our microwave oven — pang-init nga lang ng ulam. Chicken skin does not turn crisp in the microwave.

    Reply
  7. JOEY TOSINO says:
    November 11, 2008 at 6:52 am

    paborito ko to!
    lagi ko rekwest sa misis ko!
    galing din kay Giada yung recipe sa isang cookbook nya.
    olive oil, lemons, salt and pepper … yun na!
    super sarap nga eh!

    Reply
  8. Lucy says:
    November 27, 2008 at 9:50 pm

    hhmm sounds yummy though.. will try this tonight and let u know the feedback Connie lol..:))

    Reply
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