Crispy is the only way I like fried chicken. But I don’t have to deep fry it in order to have crispy chicken. Oven fried is a much healthier way to make crispy fried chicken. The thought of oven frying chicken or fish never crossed my mind until I remembered seeing an Oprah show which featured her chef making healthy versions of things Oprah liked when she was really into watching her weigh.

I couldn’t remember the recipe Oprah’s chef used to cook the chicken so I came up with my own easy recipe. One of the best ways to reduce fat and calories when frying anything is to use frying olive oil. There are several varieties of olive oil on the market and olive oil is healthier in cooking than vegetable oil or canola oil. Just make sure you use the right type of olive oil for whatever you are cooking because each olive oil does best at a certain temperature . I found a frying and baking olive oil by Filippo Berio that I use whenever I fry or roast foods in the oven.

Frying chicken takes a special skill. At least it is if you fry chicken on the stove. You have to make sure the temperature is high enough to fry the chicken without burning it. If you have the temperature too low the chicken will “boil” as my mom would say and not get crispy. Plus, you have to take cover every time you lift the lid to check on the chicken. When you oven fry chicken you don’t have to worry about adjusting the temperature or grease popping.

In the end all you will have is delicious crispy oven fried chicken.

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
2 pkgs chicken drummettes or preferred pieces of chicken
1 ½ cups of flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp Adobo seasoning
1 Large Ziploc Bag
¾ cup Filippo Berio frying & baking olive oil
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray rimmed no stick cookie sheet with cooking oil spray and add frying olive oil.

Rinse chicken and place in a large bowl. Season with a little salt, pepper and paprika. Add the listed seasonings to the Ziploc bag and mix together. Add 5 pieces of chicken to the bag and coat with the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour and place chicken on the cookie sheet. Repeat until all of the chicken has been coated with flour mixture.

Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until done and crispy. Turn chicken midway through cooking. Drain on paper towels.

This pairs nicely with my “New Kind of Potato Salad” recipe and a green salad.