No, you’re not seeing double, well maybe a little, but more because I always have buttermilk in the fridge, and because those I cook for gobbled up the buttermilk pan-fried chicken like their collective hairs were on fire, and because they all got down on their little knobby chicken knees and have spent the last 48 hours beggin’ for another round of finger-lickin’ chicken. I decided to switch it up – take it out of the frypan & toss it in the fire, well not quite the fire – the oven, actually. So whether you pan-fry it, oven-fry it or head outside to the grill (minus the breading), buttermilk-marinated chicken will bring it every single time. And in the name of efficiency, I’m going to pick this one up at the breading station –
So start putting your chicken to sleep in a bed of buttermilk before it meets any heat and you’ll soon have the deepest of understandings of what all cooks south of the north amercan border know – it ain’t worth squat if it ain’t been to bed with buttermilk. On that note – with a batch of buttermilk in hand, kickin’ chicken is not far behind – so let’s oven-fry some chicken!
click here to jump down to the crispy buttermilk oven-fried chicken recipe
1. You need to round up a mess of chicken pieces, 8-10.
2. Season up a couple of cups of buttermilk – put it in a ziploc bag and put the bag in a bowl.
3. Stir it all around.
4. And get the chicken in the bag.
5. Seal it up and get it in the fridge – anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight.
6. Get your breading ingredients together – breadcrumbs, garlic & onion powder, cayenne pepper & paprika.
7. Bring on the dried herbs.
8. Strain the marinade from the chicken in a colander and drain any excess.
9. And get breading – throughly coat the drained chicken in the bread crumb mixture.
10. Keep going until it’s all coated.
11. You’re almost done.
12. It’s ready for the oven.
Bake until drooling – you, silly – not the chicken.
crispy buttermilk oven-fried chicken
1. Put a large ziploc bag in a bowl and add the following:
- 2-3 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp. each onion & garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. each cayenne & freshly cracked black
- 2-3 tsps. dried herbs, oregano, thyme, rosemary
- 8-12 pieces of chicken, your choice
- or cut up a whole chicken
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup panko, cornmeal, bread crumbs (or combo)
- 1/2 tsp. each onion, garlic powder, paprika
- 1-2 tsps. dried herbs, oregano, thyme, rosemary
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne, S&P
get creative with the marinade
The flavorings that can be added to a buttermilk marinade are as endless as your imagination – so here’s what my imagination is imagining – I thought it worthwhile to remind you –
- hoisin sauce, soy sauce, 5-spice powder, garlic
- sweet red chili sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger
- onion, dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice
- fish sauce, sweet red chili sauce, garlic
- curry paste, turmeric, garlic
- soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, cilantro
- worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, green onion, red chilies
- seasoning blends & rubs, hot sauce
get creative with the breading
The flavorings that you can add to a breadcrumb/flour breading base are infinite – a little bit of this and a little bit of that – and again, worth repeating –
- cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic
- chili, garlic, lime zest, crushed tortilla chips
- dried oregano, dried basil, garlic, grated parmesan cheese
- orange zest, grated ginger, garlic & onion powder
- 5-spice powder, onion powder, garlic, sesame seeds
ways with buttermilk & chicken
- buttermilk roast chicken
- buttermilk baked chicken
- buttermilk fried chicken
- buttermilk pecan chicken
- grilled buttermilk chicken
- buttermilk chicken casserole
- chicken & buttermilk dumplings
- buttermilk chicken dumplings
- chicken with buttermilk gravy
- slow-cooked buttermilk chicken
- chicken & buttermilk soup
- chicken fajita with buttermilk dressing
- buttermilk battered chicken