OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN WITH HOMEMADE COLESLAW

These chicken thighs are so wonderfully crisp, no one will believe you when you tell them it’s been baked!

I seriously cannot stand deep-frying stuff. It gets extremely costly since I’m using up bottles and bottles of peanut oil, the floors get splattered on with oil and then I feel so incredibly greasy from head to toe until my next shower. To sum up, it’s greasy and gross. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like deep fried foods.

 I love it! French fries, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, corn dogs… you name it. But sometimes you just need those special recipes that require an oven but produce deep-fried quality, like this one right here.

Lauren does such a great job by slathering the chicken in some peanut oil before applying on the bread crumb coating. That way it gets “oven-fried,” giving you nice, crisp fried chicken quality with the use of less oil and without all the grease. Amazing, right? Pair that with this easy and super refreshing coleslaw and you’ll never have to order out fried chicken ever again!So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first start with the coleslaw by mixing together some shredded cabbage, diced onion and grated carrots.

Then we’ll combine the wet ingredients –  mayo, yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper – in a separate bowl.

We’ll pour that right over the cabbage mixture and give it a good stir. Let it sit in the fridge while you prepare the chicken.

Go ahead and trim off the excess fat off the thighs. I find this easiest to do with kitchen shears.

Then in 3 separate bowls, we’ll combine the flour, salt and pepper in one…

the egg, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper in the second…

and the Panko, cajun seasoning, paprika, peanut oil, salt and pepper in the third.

Then we’ll take each chicken thigh and dredge it in the flour…

dip into the eggs…

and then coat in the Panko crumbs.

I took half of the chicken thighs and wrapped each of them in saran-wrap to freeze.This will come in so handy when I’m too tired to cook during the work week. (And yes, I made this over a month ago. I don’t know how it took me so long to post this!)

We’ll put the rest on a baking sheet and let it bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.

You want the crust to have that really nice golden brown.

Oven-fried = best thing ever!

Serve with coleslaw and you’re ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to toaste
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce, or more to taste
• 1 1/2 cups Panko
• 3 teaspoons cajun seasoning 1
• teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup peanut oil

FOR THE COLESLAW

• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
2. To make the coleslaw, combine cabbage, onion and carrot in a large bowl. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture over cabbage mixture and stir using a rubber spatula until well combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
3. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper, to taste. In another shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. In a third shallow bowl, combine Panko, cajun seasoning, paprika, peanut oil, salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Working one at a time, dredge chicken in the flour, dip into the eggs, then dredge in the Panko, pressing to coat.
5. Place onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the chicken is completely cooked through.
6. Serve immediately with coleslaw.