Spicy Oven Fried Chicken

I've been making this recipe of and on for a couple of years now. It is delicious. The use of buttermilk in the marinade makes is very juicy, while the breading makes it crunchy on the outside. It does have a little kick to it, so if you don't like things spicy, I would decrease the hot sauce and cayenne pepper by half. One of the reasons I make this so infrequently, is because I forget to marinate it! I really like to marinate it overnight, but I'm terrible at recipes that require me to do that. They keep getting pushed off until the next month, but I'm happy to say I made this one this month. I hope you enjoy it!

Spicy Oven Fried Chicken

from Southern Living

Ingredients:

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon hot pepper sauce

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, hot sauce, mustard, garlic, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, flour, thyme, paprika, cayenne, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well.  Remove chicken from marinade, place in seasoned bread crumb mixture. Turn to coat. Place chicken on a baking rack and let sit for 20 minutes so that crumbs will adhere better. If you don't have time for this step, just omit it.

Meanwhile, put remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a rimmed baking sheet, and place in oven; heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After about 5 minutes, place chicken on heated baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until crispy, golden and baked through.

This recipe has been linked to Prairie Story's Recipe Swap Thursday.