what did I do wrong??

[michelern]

My DH and I were very excited to make the oven fried chicken from the April CL issue last night.....while it did have a good flavor, and was easy to make, there were clumps of breading still covered with flour when we took it out of the oven. I turned the chicken when I was supposed to so that wasn't it. Perhaps I didn't spray it enough with cooking spray before we double breaded it????? We were thinking we could spray it, then not even double bread it at all.....anyone have any suggestions or can tell me if they had a similar problem??? I know that many of you had tried this recipe already with good results.....

[Mamasue]

I haven't seen the recipe yet because I don't have April's issue....maybe today *fingers crossed*. Did the recipe state to spray the pan and then preheat? Preheating gives that crusty fried look.

[ccooney]

Hmmm. I made that recipe this week too and it came out OK. Did you make sure you sprayed it again after the second flour coating?

[Peggy]

michelern,

Don't feel like you are the only one!! I made the Oven-Fried Chicken last night and it was a disaster! I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. (I did reduce the cooking time because the chicken had no bones.) The chicken was cooked just fine but the breading was doughy and anemic looking. I was expecting the crispy, brown, yummy-looking chicken pictured in the magazine and was very disappointed. What did I do wrong??? Oh, one more thing...I didn't have parchment paper, so I lined the baking pan with foil. Would that be the reason my chicken was so pathetic??? I am envious of those of you that had perfect chicken. Mine was awful... Any ideas?

Peggy

[michelern]

Peggy, I think the parchment paper helps absorb some of the oils and juices that leak from the chicken....the foil may make it soggy. BUT I'm not one to give expert advice by any means. I agree with you about it definitely NOT resembling the picture AT ALL!!! I laughed when I compared the two. Connie, I have absolutely know idea if I sprayed the chicken right after the second coating. I do know that we sprayed it after it had been cooking for a little while and noticed that the "floury" texture was not going away. Maybe we didn't spray it enough....

Like I had mentioned earlier, it had a good taste (minus the parts with lots of chalky flour) and we look forward to making it again and trying to perfect it!

[SandyM]

Mine didn't brown as much as the picture showed, and I was in such a hurry (for other reasons) that I'm pretty certain I didn't flood the chicken with cooking spray. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just took a quick swipe across all of the chicken. It did brown, just not as dark.

The only thing I can think of regarding the flour issue was perhaps you didn't shake most of it off the chicken pieces? I wasn't overly conscious about that either, but I know we weren't chomping into clumps of flour - ick.

[Gail]

I made this last night as well and was pretty pleased with the results. I think I had two pieces which had a dot or two of uncooked flour, which I figured was likely my fault for not shaking it off well enough. No big deal, though-- and the rest was cooked through nicely. I'm thinking that it may well have been the same issue in michelern's case.

As for Peggy's problem, I'd be inclined to agree that it's probably the foil that caused the problem, since foil is both reflective and nonporous.

[Searcher]

My daughter and I found a baked chicken recipe a few years back that we used to make often. I'd forgotten until she asked for the recipe just now how we browed the chicken well. This one is baked at 350º for 1 1/2 hours or so, then put under the broiler for 5-8 minutes. That might help with the raw flour spots on it.

[SusanMac]

Whenever I bake anything breaded, I put it on a wire racked placed inside my jellyroll pan. It's just one of those racks used for cooling cookies. It means your chicken touches less surface area (so less sticking), and air is able to get under your chicken, as well. This makes it crispier and you don't have to turn it. (I haven't made the coconut shrimp yet, but hoping my shrimp won't fall through the cracks on my rack!)

There was a thread about this same issue recently with lots of ideas and tips. I think the topic was breaded catfish though. Don't know how easy it would be to find.

[michelern]

Originally posted by michelern
Connie, I have absolutely know idea if I sprayed the chicken right after the second coating.



Don't you hate it when you read through one of your own posts and you realize you made a spelling/grammar error???? I meant to say that I have NO idea.....instead of know idea!!! Silly me...silly me

[Gail]

That's all right. We still like ewe anyway.

...you know the old saying about "people who live in glass houses?" I understand not to long ago I advised someone to baste a chicken every 30 hours...:o

[Leslie w]

I made this last night and thought it was pretty good, it came out like the picture and yes I did spray it twice and bake it on parchment paper. I didn't like the way the breasts came out though. I never have much luck baking breasts because they always come out rather dry and tasteless. The thighs were wonderful. I used a little Fox Point Seasoning in place of cumin. I do however prefer the oven fried recipe from CL Complete. You double dip the chicken in a buttermilk mixture. It comes out very moist.

[Peggy]

Guess I'd better invest in some parchment paper for recipes like this. But I still had the same problem as Michele with the clumping flour and I know I sprayed it twice. Oh well, there won't be a second chance for this recipe in my house. If it doesn't work the first time, I don't care to tinker with it. Too many other recipes to try!

Peggy

[ccooney]

I should elaborate on my first reply. I didn't use parchment paper either. I used a glass pyrex 11x7 dish sprayed with cooking spray. I also did boneless breasts and cut down on the time in the oven to avoid drying them out. So it's quite possible that the recipe as it is in CL will result in floury spots on the finished chicken. Sorry I wasn't originally clear about how I altered the recipe.