Oven Fried Chicken - Not as Good as it Looked

One of the dinner staples in our house is breadcrumb chicken.    I initially learned to make breadcrumb chicken from my mother-in-law, who makes delicious breadcrumb chicken.  (If I recall correctly, I think Walter asked that I learn how to make this before we were married.)  However, when you make something for a number of years (like more than 15 years), you might want to get wild and  try something new.

Thursday evening we had a great evening planned with a couple of college friends, one who is local and another who had traveled from Alabama for a work conference.    I had intended to serve a yummy home cooked meal, but unfortunately fell a little flat.  I tried a new recipe from Bobby Deen's new cookbook for Oven Fried Chicken.  The picture in the cookbook is beautiful.  I liked the idea of marinating the chicken in the buttermilk mixture overnight, and thought this would really keep the chicken breasts tender and juicy.

The reality was this recipe was not as good as the typical breadcrumb chicken we have every other week.  Some of the ingredients are the same, but the outcome was different.  Bobby's chicken was not very crisp (I think because of the marinade), and the breadcrumb mixture was not that flavorful.  It was a fairly bland dish.  I was disappointed as I have tried so many other recipes recently that would have knocked this one out of the ballpark.

I'll share both recipes below, and you be the judge.  May be it was user error, as the other Bobby Deen recipes I have made, have been excellent.

Bobby Deen’s Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken

1/3 cup 1 percent buttermilk

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

4 bone-in chicken breasts (about 12 ounces each)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, chives, mustard and hot sauce. Remove the skin from the chicken breasts, add the chicken to the bowl, and let it soak for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season it with salt and pepper. Place the breadcrumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the chicken into the breadcrumbs and toss well to coat. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Spray the chicken generously with cooking spray and bake until it is just cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Hubbell Breadcrumb Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts or thighs (pounded so not thicker than 1/2 inch)

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs  (can also substitute and use Panko breadcrumbs for a new twist)

2-4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan

salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray cooking spray to a shallow pan or cookie sheet.  Pound chicken breasts so no thicker than 1/2 inch.  You can also use chicken tenders or thighs.  On a shallow dish or pie plate, add breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasoning.  Use a fork to mix thoroughly.  Dredge each chicken piece in the egg then in the breadcrumbs, getting an even coating on all sides.  Place on pan or cookie sheet.  Lightly coat the top of the chicken with cooking spray.  Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and cooked throughout.