OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

This is an adapted recipe. I got the original from my mother in law in the Marche Region of Italy. I am pretty sure it is the best cooking on the whole boot ;)! But I have adapted this to fit me and so now, it is mine! ;)

She's a sharer, its okay!

The beauty of this recipe is you can use it on just about any meat. I did this at my mother's over the holidays with deer meat cube steak and it was a BIG hit!

Oven Fried Chicken

(or whatever meat you want)

Ingredients:

Thin Sliced Chicken

Flour

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

2 Large Eggs or 3 medium eggs
Zest of one lemon

1/4 cup Water

Plain Bread Crumbs

Grana Padano grated (We get it by the chunks at Costco and grate it in our Magic Bullet. This cheese is basically like Parmesan, just a bit softer and to me waaayyy better)

Olive Oil/Salted Butter

Set your oven to 450 for 20 minutes (you can do less if you want, but I don't play with chicken)

First you have to mix up the process.

First plate, flour with a healthy dusting of Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Literally cover the flour completely with Lawry's. If you don't, it won't be salty enough! (If you don't like Lawry's, use a few pinches of salt). In the 2nd bowl, 3 Eggs and the water beaten together with the zest of a lemon. In the 3rd bowl, the bread crumbs and grana padano or parmesan cheese mixed together.

I lay it out like an assembly line with the cookie sheet waiting at the end!

I cut up the chicken into smaller pieces. The kids get chicken nuggets this way and I leave bigger ones for my husband to put on the buttermilk buscuits or bread. You can cut it up or not... totally up to you.

Okay, first coat it in the flour mix.

Then dredge it through the egg.

Then coat it with the bread crumb/cheese mix.

Lay it on the tray and continue.

After they are all layed out we have "THE BIG DEBATE". Butter or Olive oil.

I am from South Carolina, my husband is from Italy. I have lived in Italy and understand the power of the Olive, so fighting the Olive is a losing battle in this house. So, I go with it!

I actually melt a little butter and put a coffee spoonful size (1/2 tsp) of the melted butter on top of each piece. I just think it adds a whole lot to the flavor. You can DRENCH it if you want. In a perfect world where fat just didn't exist, I would do this too. But since that world is not mine, I use a touch. And then I drizzle EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on all of the pieces.

Okay, now is the easy part... into a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes!

When you take it out it should be crunchy and a deep golden brown!

It is not a bad idea to sit it on some paper towels and get the excess oil off. And now it is ready to serve!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

BONUS IDEA

Remember those biscuits we made the other day, if you have any left over or want to make it with the chicken/cube steak, you can put a piece between a biscuit with a little mustard and I am telling you, it is so good you will SLAP YOUR MOTHER!!!!! ;)

(Just kidding mom!)

Oh... and I did have to sample this one! Sorry, got so excited, I forgot I wanted to take a picture of it! haha