Cornmeal-Crusted Oven-Fried Chicken

Submitted by teresas

"This has a really nice crispy, flavorful crust...it originated from Gourmet Magazine...enjoy! Cooking time does not include marinating time..."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, freshly grated
• 1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave
• 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (divided)
• 3 lbs chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 3⁄4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1⁄3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

directions

1. In a large bowl whisk, together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, shallots, thyme, 1 tsp of the salt, and 1 tsp of the cayenne, add the chicken, stirring to coat it with the marinade, and let it marinate, covered and chilled, stirring occasionally for 3 hours or overnight. (I put everything in a large zip lock bag.).
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
3. In a separate bowl, make the egg wash by mixing together the eggs, water and 1 tbl lemon juice.
4. In another large bowl combine the cornmeal, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, remaining 1 tsp salt, paprika and the remaining 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. (I put everything in a large zip lock bag, and coat the pieces two at a time.).
5. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon, letting the excess marinade drip off, dip it in the egg wash, and dredge it in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off the excess.
6. Arrange the chicken in a one layer onto a rack and let it dry for 30 minutes.
7. (The chicken may be prepared up to this point 6 hours in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled.).
8. Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in one layer in a lightly oiled jelly-roll pan, drizzling the butter over it, and bake it in the middle of the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until it is done and crisp.

Reviews

[Baby Kato]

What a lovely chicken recipe TeresaS. We really enjoyed the chicken prepared this way. What great flavors this had. The chicken was perfectly cooked, crisp on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. Thanks for sharing. Made for Please Review My Recipe Tag Game.

 

[I'mPat]

The only changes I made was to omit the parsley as the recent heat wave has taken its toll on the herb garden and to sub sharp cheddar cheese finely grated for the parmesan and only used 1 egg in the crumbing for 6 chicken cutlets bone in and skin on and sprayed with a little oil instead of using the butter and baked on rack at 175C for 45 minutes for crunchy and some of the most succulent chicken we have ever had, thank you TeresaS, made for Rookie tag game.