New recipe: Figure friendly fried chicken

I tape Rachel Ray's talk show every day and catch up on the weekends. I love her quick week night dinners and this one caught my eye right away. Who doesn't like fried chicken? But this fried chicken is made with boneless, skinless chicken and is only flash fried, then baked to finish cooking. This chicken was so good! It has a ton of flavor from all of the ingredients in the brine and the breading. I love that you can through it in a plastic bag the night before and cook it when you get home from work.

Ingredients  

Brine:

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 large shallots, coarsely chopped
• 2 to 3 large fresh bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
• A handful fresh thyme leaves
• A generous handful parsley
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons kosher or fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• About 1 1/2 quarts water
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used tenderloins)

Breading:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons granulated onion
• 2 tablespoons powdered mustard
• 2 tablespoons paprika or smoked sweet paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• About 1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable oil for cooking (I used olive oil)

Directions: 

For the brine: Add garlic, shallots, bay leaves, pepper, thyme, chili pepper and parsley to a food processor and process into a paste. Add paste to a large plastic food storage bag and add Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, sugar and water. Squish to combine. Drop chicken into bag and chill 6 hours or overnight. 

  

Drain chicken from brining liquid.

Coat the pieces in flour and cornmeal seasoned with dried garlic, onion, mustard and paprika. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken pieces until crispy on one side. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet topped with a cooling rack so the heat can circulate around the chicken. Cook through, about 10-12 minutes, until extra-crispy and firm.

Enjoy!

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