Buttermilk Baked Chicken

A few weeks ago I wanted to use up some buttermilk that I had leftover from my Buttermilk Fantail Rolls, so I made some Buttermilk Baked Chicken. I made the recipe up based on several other recipes I sometimes make, and I really liked the end result. The buttermilk made the chicken breast very moist and tender and the topping had a bit of crunch. I used a mixture of butter and olive oil to reduce the amount of saturated fat in the recipe, and that seemed to work to give a bit of crispiness to the crust without frying. I 'm still playing around with the spices - not sure I have the blend perfect so I will keep experimenting!

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

4 chicken breasts (halves) - I cut each piece into half, so I had 8 strips.
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt

1) Mix the chicken, buttermilk, and salt in a bowl. Let marinate for 30 - 45 minutes in the refrigerator.

2) Topping: combine in a bowl and set aside

1 cup flour
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To coat the chicken:

2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Put the butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Put in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the butter. (Watch carefully so it doesn't burn.) Then add the olive oil to the pan.

4) Remove the buttermilk soaked chicken from the refrigerator and set it next to the coating bowl. Using tongs, lift each piece of chicken out of the bowl and let the excess buttermilk drip off. Then dip the piece into the coating, flipping it, and pressing it down so all sides of the chicken are totally covered with topping. Then set the chicken into the butter mixture. Turn the chicken over, so the top side is coated with butter. Repeat for each piece of chicken.


5. Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Serve while the topping is warm and crunchy!