Buttermilk Baked Chicken
Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
1⁄4 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
1 tablespoon salt
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half widthwise
5 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
Instructions
1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450*F. Whisk buttermilk, sour cream, 4 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix, and salt in large bowl until salt dissolves. Add chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, pulse bread and 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix in food processor until finely ground. Bake bread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish.
3. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bowl, allowing excess brine to drip back into bowl, and dredge in bread crumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to prepared baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.
4. Bake on lower rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400*F. Bake until chicken is golden brown and white meat registers 160*F (or dark meat registers 175*F), 20 to 25 minutes. Serve.
Comments
This recipe is from the 2010 Cook’s Country Annual and I’ve got to say that it’s the first time the crew at America’s Test Kitchen have let me down. This recipe was supposed to answer the lack of buttermilk flavor in most buttermilk chicken and I found the chicken to be pretty bland overall. The crunch of the coating was definitely nice thanks to the homemade bread crumbs and the initial high heat cook, but the flavor just wasn’t there. I couldn’t taste the buttermilk, sour cream, or ranch seasoning even after marinating the chicken for an hour. Edit: I increased the ranch seasoning the second time I made it and it was much better!
I’m not sure what this recipe needs to make it better, but it’s definitely not all it should be as it currently stands.
Shown here with Zucchini Fritterwaffles.
Cook’s Country 2010