crispy buttermilk oven-fried chicken

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.

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

2. Seal & refrigerate. Marinate anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight.

When you’re ready to cook – preheat the oven to 425°.

In a shallow dish mix the coating together:

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

3. Place the chicken in a colander to drain – and get ready to bread. Lay a piece of chicken in the breading mixture, turn to coat and place in a baking pan. Continue with all the pieces of chicken.

4. Bake in your preheated oven 20-30 minutes, turn the chicken and turn the oven down to 375° and continue cooking until golden and crispy – total time in the oven 50-60 minutes. For super crispy, place the pan under the broiler just before taking the pan out of the oven. Let rest for 5 before consuming – before you get 5 for fighting over this chicken!

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 –