Oven Fried Chicken stays crispier.

My family loves fried chicken, but I hate the mess and any excess grease in the crust ruins the crispiness the next day. Making fried chicken with pieces that still have the bone inside are also sometimes difficult to get done correctly. Sometimes undercooked, so finished off in the oven; sometimes overcooked and the crust is dark brown to burnt while the chicken is still raw inside.

After some trial and error, I have come up with this recipe for oven fried chicken; the chicken stays crispy when cold, reheats well in the oven, and tastes delicious. I served the vegetable medley I had made from the zucchini and yellow squash I had purchased from Fresh for Less.

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

10 pieces of chicken (thigh, leg or breast), bone in and leave some skin on
1 quart buttermilk, divided in half
1 1/2 cups dried Italian flavored bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 tsp each ground black pepper and ground cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Place chicken into sealable bowl; pour half of the buttermilk over, making sure to coat all the pieces. Seal and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a large aluminum roasting pan with foil; spray rack with nonstick spray and place inside pan.

Set up dredging station - chicken in buttermilk, large bowl with bread crumbs, cornmeal, black and cayenne pepper mixed together, large bowl with other half of buttermilk. Dredge each piece of chicken in the dry mixture, coat again with buttermilk and dredge in dry mixture a second time. Place on rack (meaty side up); once all pieces are double dredged, place pan in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Do not open oven door, do not move chicken around until then. Check internal temp of meatiest section of breast; should be at 185 to 190F.

Makes 10 pieces of oven fried chicken.

Mary Cokenour