Moist Oven-Fried Chicken

Removing the chicken skin and baking the chicken rather than deep-frying it yields an impressive savings of saturated fat and calories, but often can be dry.  To solve this problem, try marinating the chicken before baking.  For even baking when cutting up a whole chicken, cut breast halves in half on the diagonal before marinating and dredging. The whole grain batter, makes a crunchy coating.

Oven Fried Chicken
1/2 cup Well-shaken low-fat or nonfat buttermilk 
1 tbsp Tablespoon Dijon mustard 
1 clove Garlic, minced 
1 tsp Hot sauce, such as Tabasco 
1/4 tsp Salt, divided 
2 1/2 pounds Bone-in chicken breast halves, thighs or drumsticks 
1/3 cup Whole-wheat flour 
3 tbsp Whole-grain yellow cornmeal 
1 tsp Baking powder 
1 tsp Paprika
Pepper to taste
Olive or canola oil cooking spray

Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic, hot sauce and 1/8 tsp salt in medium bowl until well blended. 

Remove skin from chicken by grasping it with a piece of paper towel and pulling skin away from flesh. Trim visible fat. If using chicken breast, use a large chef’s knife or poultry shears to cut each piece in half on the diagonal. Place chicken in large zip-close plastic food bag. Add buttermilk mixture; seal bag. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning several times to redistribute marinade.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a wire rack on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, paprika, baking powder, pepper and remaining 1/8 tsp salt in shallow dish, such as a pie pan, until well blended. One at a time, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk marinade; shake off excess. Dredge chicken in flour mixture; place on prepared rack. Discard any leftover marinade and flour mixture. Spray chicken with cooking spray, coating each piece evenly.

Bake chicken until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh and breast registers 165 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes.

YIELD: 4 servings.

Per serving of breast pieces: Calories: 300. Total fat: 6 grams. Saturated fat: 1.5 grams. Cholesterol: 120 milligrams. Sodium: 380 milligrams. Carbohydrates: 14 grams: Fiber: 2 grams. Protein: 46 grams.

Per serving of thigh pieces: Calories: 340. Total fat: 13 grams. Saturated fat: 3.5 grams. Cholesterol: 205 milligrams. Sodium: 410 milligrams. Carbohydrates: 14 grams: Fiber: 2 grams. Protein: 39 grams.

Variation—Super Hot Nashville-Style Oven-Fried Chicken: The suddenly popular Nashville-style fried chicken is very, very hot and very, very unhealthy! If you love hot food, you can make a healthy version as follows: While the chicken is baking, whisk 4 tsp olive (or canola) oil, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp chili powder in a small bowl. When the chicken is ready, use


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