Oven-Fried Chicken

I have always wanted to make fried chicken but I tend to shy away from making things that needs to be deep fried for a long time. When I saw this recipe in one of my favorite Ina Garten cookbooks, I knew this was up my alley. The chicken soaks overnight in buttermilk and then floured and lightly fried in oil. The rest of the time the chicken spends in the oven crisping up and the oil drips right off. This is the way I like my fried chicken. I don’t feel as guilty eating it cause I know it didn’t spend 15-20 minutes in oil. I made the chicken and served the BBQ Baked Beans with it. Delicious!

Oven-Fried Chicken

  • 2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening
  1. Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.
  4. Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don’t crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.

Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten

Chicken Parmesan


ChickenĀ ParmesanĀ is my husbands favorite dinner. I am not a huge chicken fan but love chicken parmesan because it’s moist and flavorful. This is a little time consuming so I don’t make it very often. We recently moved to PA and had a lot of help unpacking from my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, her husband, and a good friend of theirs. I wanted to make them something nice and decided chicken parm was the way to go.

You can make this ahead of time by breading the chicken and letting it sit in the fridge till you are ready to brown it. I’ve also baked it and then stored it till the next day. I think it tastes better the next day, the flavors all start to become one happy family.

Chicken Parmesan

  • 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
  • 4 cups marinara sauce or 2 jars of favorite sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you like it cheesy)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one piece of chicken at a time in a big ziplock bag or between two pieces of saran wrap. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound the chicken flat to about 1/2 inch thickness.
  2. Using three different shallow bowls (I use pie plates) place the flour in one bowl and season with salt and pepper. Second bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with 1tbs of water. Last bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and 1 cup parmesan cheese.
  3. Working with one piece of chicken, dredge it in the flour, coating both sides and shake off excess. Next, put it in the eggs and coat both sides, letting excess drip off. Then put it in the breadcrumb mixture, making sure that both sides are well covered and place on baking sheet or plate. Continue till all the chicken breasts are breaded.
  4. In a large baking dish place 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom and spread around.
  5. In a 12 inch skillet or saute pan set over medium high heat, add the olive oil and place chicken in pan. You will need to work in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook till golden browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes each side. (you might need to add more oil to the pan if it looks dry)
  6. When chicken is done take it out and put in the baking dish. Continue till all the chicken is cooked and in the baking dish.
  7. Cover the chicken with the rest of the sauce and top with parmesan cheese and the mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. You can take the foil off in the last 15 minutes of baking if you want the cheese browned. Serve immediately.

Source: Gina Marie Original