Buttermilk Baked Chicken

I love Fried Chicken.  Actually, I love anything fried.  I wish I hated the smell of fresh hot chicken jumping out of hot oil and fresh hot donuts too.  But I don't hate it.  It is definitely comfort food to me.  But I try not to eat fried food very often.  I found this recipe for Buttermilk Baked Chicken and since I was craving fried chicken, I decided to try this variation.  It actually tasted like it just jumped out of the fryer.  But our little secret...it didn't.  Baked in the oven, this chicken came out crispy and juicy in all the right places.  In this recipe you use homemade bread crumbs, made with white bread.  The bread crumb mixture is soft and fluffy, and I really liked it.  It was so different from those mealy store bought crumbs, which by the way, I use all the time.  But I might use this recipe more often, because it tasted fresher and so much better!  Yum!

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

adapted from Great Food Fast, Martha Stewart

serves 4

Vegetable oil, for baking sheet

8 slices white bread

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce

course salt and pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 1/2 ounces)

1 teaspoon dried thyme (I used parsley, onion powder and garlic powder)

4 pounds chicken parts (preferably legs, thighs, and wings) rinsed and patted dry

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Generously rub a baking sheet with oil.  In a food processor, pulse the bread until it turns into coarse crumbs.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  In a separate bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  (or spices of your choice)

3. Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat evenly.  Working with one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the liquid, letting the excess drip back in to the bowl; dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly.  Place the coated chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet.  Leave enough space between the chicken pieces so that they crisp evenly all the way around.

4. Bake until the chicken is golden brow, about 35 minutes.

Note: I let the chicken sit in the buttermilk for a couple of hours to make it even more tender and juicy.