This Oven Fried Chicken with crunchy breaded outside and juicy, soft inside is just perfect for dinner, lunch, and even for a breakfast sandwich. Since it’s a freezer-friendly recipe, you can make these ahead. Just grab them from the freezer, push them in the oven, and within 45 minutes you have a delicious meal.
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So the thing is, I hate to fry in oil! Mainly because I burn myself like..daily basis. You probably ask now how can a foodie burn herself almost every day?
Well, I have no problem dealing with knives; I usually don’t break anything (this week is a double exception); I’m pretty good at eyeballing the ingredients yet I’m terrible with heat! Hot oven, pans, oil…generally with anything hot I’m terribly clumsy. Therefore I always look for different methods to avoid at least the hot oil.
The other day I had chicken breast in the fridge waiting just for me to make them. Breading is a common method to prepare a meal here in Hungary. Also, I really wanted to make breaded chicken for a while, but I really really wanted to avoid the hot oil, as I said before. So I decided to give it a try and oven fry my chicken slices.
Tips:
You shouldn’t wash your chicken because it creates more mess to clean and increases the risk of contaminating the area. Not to mention, washing the chicken won’t kill any bacteria, only cooking/baking them will. Instead of washing them, all you need to do is to pat them dry with paper towels.
It’s important that you leave enough space between the chicken nuggets, so they’ll cook through fully.
Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken nugget is at least 165˚F (74˚C).
The secret of the perfect oven fried chicken:
The biggest secret of the perfect oven fried chicken is not really in breading; however the breading is the big part of a delicious chicken (or really any kind of meat).
The secret is to put them in the freezer at least 10-15 minutes before you want to use them! This way the breading won’t fell off the meat and keeps the juiciness inside! Be sure you left enough space between the slices, so they can freeze nicely and quickly separately. Also if you don’t want to use them immediately, freeze them for about 20-25 minutes (or until they froze properly), then put them in a Ziploc bag.
This way I (mostly) avoid burning myself, I don’t have to use (any/much) oil, it’s mess-free, healthier, I can make a bunch of chicken slices, nuggets ahead! So it’s a win-win situation in the light of I get the perfect oven fried chicken.
Read more about how to handle and prepare chicken safely here!
Perfect Oven Fried Chicken Recipe:
Perfect Oven Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pair Chicken Breast without the bone and the skin
- 2-2 1/2 cup Flour depends on the size of the Chicken Breast
- 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Pepper, 1 tsp Hungarian Smoked Red Paprika
- 2 tsp Parsley
- 1/2 tsp Chilli or Cayenne 1/2 tsp Cumin, 1/2 tsp Rosemary
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts. Smaller slices and nugget size is more preferable.
- This recipe will make about 40 nuggets, depends on the size you cut the chicken.
- Mix the spices with the flour. For less mess, use a Ziploc bag. *see recipe notes
- Prepare a tray you can put in the freezer later.
- Put the slices, nuggets in the Ziploc bag.
- Shake it together, so the spicy flour cover every part of the chicken.
- Lay the slices on the tray. Leave at least 1-2 inches between the slices.
- Put the tray in the freezer for at least 10-15 minute.
- In the meanwhile preheat the oven.
- "Fry" them on medium heat (about 350-360°) for 30 minutes (15 minutes per sides). Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken nugget is at least 165˚F (74˚C).
Notes
- You shouldn’t wash your chicken because it creates more mess to clean and increases the risk of contaminating the area. Not to mention, washing the chicken won’t kill any bacteria, only cooking/baking them will.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken nugget is at least 165˚F (74˚C).
- *UPDATE: After you put the chicken in the Ziplock bag with spiced flour, shake them together, make sure all of your chicken nuggets are coated enough with the breading, and shake off the excess! You need just enough breading to cover your nuggets! It leads to a thin layer of spicy flour. The breading is more than enough for the 2 chicken breasts. This way I make sure the breading is enough for larger chicken breasts too!
I was so happy with the result! No burn, no oil smell, no mess and a healthy oven fried chicken. Absolutely love that the breading didn’t fall off, it stayed crunchy and the inside was still juicy and soft! I had a bag of frozen chicken slices left for this week too and it was still perfect after “frying” them. So it’s safe to say they are indeed freezer friendly and perfect.
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Great recipe! Looks delicious!
Thank you Brenda! I’m glad you liked it! :))
this actually looks like it was fried too! Yum!
Yess! But it was so much heathier this way! :))
Fried chicken is on the weekly menu plan now! Thanks!! 🙂
I’m so glad you liked! Please let me know if you liked it! :))