Stumble It!
I don't know anyone who would admit to eating fried chicken these days - unless it was Ezell's Fried Chicken - which is like admitting you've won the lottery - everyone looks upon you with envy! After all, the sun is out in the Northwest and eating fried chicken might be the difference between squeezing into those shorts or wearing elastic-waisted pants - yet again. Ezell's has been a Seattle favorite for 20 years - why, even my good friend Op's has had Ezell's flown to her in Chicago! We eat Ezell's chicken, officially, once a year - during SeaFair - Seattle's Summer Celebration. We pick up our order to go (there is no eating in at Ezell's) and head to Lake Washington where we feast on the best fried chicken on the planet as the Blue Angel's soar above our heads - it just doesn't get any better!
The mister wanted fried chicken but since I don't want to be wearing those special pants for Seafair I decided to try a Greg Atkinson recipe. It's totally different from REAL fried chicken because it's not fried by any stretch of the imagination - but it's dang good...in fact, I'd give this 4 dangs on the old meter. Greg adapted his grandfather's buttermilk marinade and Cook's Illustrated formula for oven-fried chicken...and then I made a few adaptations myself - and we loved this! Even though the marinade has hot pepper sauce this is NOT a spicy dish - it's very mild, so the kidlets will like it too.
Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders - Adapted From Entertaining In The Northwest Style By Greg Atkinson
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
16 chicken tenders, rinsed and dried
2 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
5 tablespoons Canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoons ground thyme
Crack the eggs into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and beat lightly with a fork. Whisk in the buttermilk and the hot pepper sauce. Put the chicken tenders into the buttermilk bath. Allow the chicken to marinate for several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and put a wire-mesh cooling rack or the rack from a roasting pan on top of the baking sheet. Put the panko on a sheet of baker's parchment or waxed paper and lightly crush the crumbs with a rolling pin - but don't pulverize them completely; if they still have some crumbly texture, the chicken will end up crispier. Work the canola oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and thyme into the bread crumbs with your fingers.
Pull the chicken tenders one at a time out of the marinade and with thumb and forefinger wipe off the excess buttermilk. Lay them in the crumb mixture and roll each piece, pressing lightly to coat, until the entire tender is covered. Lay the chicken on the rack on top of the baking sheet.
Bake until the chicken is golden brown and sizzling, about 25 to 35 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
"Far and away the best prize life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
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One year ago today: Meeting Max
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Looks fabulous... I'll have to try it once I find Panko!
Posted by: Joella | July 01, 2009 at 05:05 PM