How To Make Healthy Fried Chicken

September 6, 2010 8 Comments

Last week, I posted: Fast Food Fried Chicken Experiment: Is it Fresh Food?. For the experiment, I had to make my own "fried" chicken.

(I just want to apologize to all my vegetarian readers - the next couple weeks is gonna have some meat, but don't worry, I will get back to veggies!)

I don't own a deep fryer, so I used my favorite baked chicken recipe. Turns out you can bake chicken in your oven with a form of breading on it and it resembles fried chicken!

There are a bunch of different recipes out there, but mine features a buttermilk marinade that infuses the chicken with flavor. Sadly, my recipe isn't fewer calories than KFC or Popeye's. A drumstick with skin on will set you back about 165 calories, and without skin at around 100.

BUT, my ingredient list is much better. Check out Popeye's (abbreviated) ingredient list reprinted from their website://

SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SEASONING INCLUDING DRIED GARLIC AND DRIED ONION. ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, SPACK, SALT, SUGAR, FD&C YELLOW #5 (MAY ALSO CONTAIN YELLOW #6, RED #40, RED #3, GRAPE COLOR EXTRACT, BLUE #1, BLUE #2, BEET COLOR EXTRACT, ANNATTO EXTRACT AND / OR TURMERIC EXTRACT), SPICES, DRIED WHOLE EGGS, NONFAT DRIED MILK, LEAVENING (SODIUM BICARBONATE AND/OR SODIUM ALUMINUM SULFATE), MICROCRYTALLINE CELLULOSE, NATURAL FLAVOR, THIS PRODUCT ALSO CONTAINS CORN SYRUP SOLIDS). CONTAINS: WHEAT, EGG, MILK AND YELLOW #5 & #6, RED #3 AND #40, BLUE #1 AND BLUE #2.

So, basically, they are using salt, garlic, flour, milk and sugar. When YOU make this chicken, your ingredients will taste pretty amazing. But, as you can tell from the photo (my chicken is the furthest one to the right), it doesn't look as good to make your own. Perhaps I need some artificial colors?

The downside to making your own "fried" chicken is that you will have to cook (as opposed to pick up your bucket). After the latest poultry and salmonella scare, I have been extra vigilant about the cooking time on my chicken. I used a meat thermometer to ensure that my chicken reached 165F before I served it.

Meat thermometers are cheap (see below) and a great tool to calm your nerves about chicken doneness. Check out the U.S. government's website on cooking meat: Is It Done Yet?.

Finally, what about the chicken meat that you buy? This is really a tough question. I have bought chicken at $1.69 per pound and $9 per pound. There is a distinct taste difference with more expensive chicken (free range, organic, etc.). The 40 dollar chicken I purchased had lived on pasture and was INCREDIBLY flavorful, but I can't do that every week.

Your budget, of course, is going to determine the quality of chicken you purchase. I suggest buy the nicest meat you can afford. Go for quality and not quantity and it will taste better (and be better for you and the environment).

Baked Fried Chicken Recipe

10 pieces chicken (skin on or skinless)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and ground pepper
6 slices 100% whole grain bread
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Marinate the chicken in buttermilk, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 450F. Using a food processor, pulse bread until coarse crumbs form. Pour crumbs onto a rimmed baking sheet and toss with vegetable oil. Bake crumbs until crunchy and brown (8-10 minutes). Pour into a shallow bowl.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lift chicken, one piece at a time, out of marinade (shake off excess) and press bread crumbs onto the piece. Place chicken onto baking sheet.
4. Bake 30-40 minutes (without turning) until a meat thermometer reads 165 F.

Got any tips for healthy fried food? Please share.

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8 Comments:

I made baked fried chicken yesterday. Marinated the chicken
overnight in buttermilk with spices (some BAM!) and green chilis. The
I use a special blend of flour, cornmeal, instant potatoes and panko
bread crumbs along with BBQ spices. Shake chicken pieces in a bag with
the coating. Bake for a hour or so at 400° turning pices at least
once. Turned out great! Maybe not low, low cal but none of the oil in
fried chicken.

Lori

for a healthier breading use FIBER ONE cereal ground up and seasoned to your liking, remove skin and dip chix in eggbeaters then the breading mix and place it on a rack on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray and bake until done and crispy.

deborah

My mom gave me this recipe that she got from weight watchers over 20 years ago. It's more chicken tenders than fried chicken, but we all love it!
Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips or nuggets. Dip in bowl of lemon juice and garlic powder. Run through a bowl of bread crumbs (or used crushed cereal) and place on a cookie sheet or baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Roast at 425 for about 20-30 min (depends on how thick you cut the chicken).
We have these plain, over rice or cooled and in a sandwich/pita or tortilla.

Gail

I noticed SPACK on the ingredient list. I have no idea what that is, but the following is what I found.
Definitions of spack on the Web:
* A clumsy, foolish, or mentally deficient person
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spack
The ingredient list doesn't seem too bad, but certainly making your own food at home controls what your putting into your body.

Kris

That ingredient list would give me a migraine from the MSG and my middle child would break out in hives from the Red #3. It's ridiculous to put in those colors.

April

Oh, Yes! Soooo good. I have only one question. I did not have any buttermilk so I thinned down FAGO non-fat yogurt with fat-free reconstituted powdered milk. After marinating chicken, there was yogurt left. Could I have saved it for use again in a day or two? It hurt to have to toss it. (I did not save it!)

Myrna

We do chicken strips with corn meal. I cook chicken tenders in a pan with some lemon juice and paprika (I use a non-stick pan and no oil...the lemon juice is usually enough to keep it from sticking to the pan) When they are getting close to done I will sprinkle the top of them with cornmeal, then I turn them so the cornmeal side is down and sprinkle the other side with cornmeal. Wait until the cornmeal on the bottom browns then turn and do the same to the other side. The cornmeal gives it a great crunchy coating! I like these with mustard - or with yogurt mixed with dill and lemon. YUMMY

Amanda

Great recipe...but a few pointers. This is a case where you're better off using garlic powder (or garlic salt-remember to reduce the table salt). For the bread crumbs cut the bread into small (1/2", or 1 cm) pieces and bake at about 250F until dry in the center, then process (you'll get a more even texture and coating on the chicken). And lastly, bake it on a wire rack or the bottom of the chicken just soaks up the fat that comes out as it cooks.

BCombs