Oven‑Fried Chicken
Difficulty: Intermediate
Cook Time: 1.5 hrs
Serves: 6
Attribute: Draeger’s Cooking School
Ingredients
Buttermilk Marinade:
- 6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dredging and Oven Frying:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
Equipment:
- Olive oil spray or mister
- 2 parchment-lined half-sheet baking pans
- 2 cooling racks that fit on top the baking pans
Directions
Preheat an oven to 400°F. Spray a cooling rack with oil and set over a parchment lined cookie sheet. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, salt, pepper and cayenne and whisk to combine. Add the chicken to the mixture and ensure that all pieces are evenly immersed and coated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
While the chicken marinates, prepare the dredging mixture: In a shallow dish combine the flour, salt, pepper, cayenne and thyme.
Working one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the buttermilk and let the excess liquid drip off for a moment. Working quickly, place the chicken skin-side down into the flour mixture and use your hands to sprinkle flour all over the chicken piece. Pick up the chicken and shake off excess flour. Place on prepared rack over pan. Proceed with remaining chicken pieces. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack leaving at least an inch in between each piece.
Spray the chicken pieces thoroughly and evenly with olive oil on the top, all sides and the bottom. Let the chicken sit for a minute to absorb the oil and then check to see if there are any spots that look drier. If so, spray the chicken again to coat with oil more thoroughly.
Place chicken in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken has developed a crust and becomes golden brown. Then, flip the pieces over so that they can get brown and crusty on the bottom as well. Cook for approximately 10 more minutes, until the chicken is medium brown and crusty, and an instant-read thermometer registers 165F.
Remove from oven and transfer to a large serving platter. Serve hot.
