Let’s face it, we all love fried chicken! But we also know that it’s terrible for our health. It’s difficult explaining to children how it’s in their best interest to eat well, especially when fast food companies do their level best to make their food as enticing as possible to children.

This is a brilliant recipe that mimics the crispy crust of fried chicken, and yet is baked in the oven, which means it will have less than a third of the fat found in standard fried chicken. No more feeling guilty as your child chomps away at several chicken drumsticks!

Category: Dinner

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time:  50 mins(plus up to 8 hours marinating time)

Total time:  1 hour 10 mins

Servings: 4

You ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 pounds of whole chicken legs
• 1 teaspoon of hot sauce
• 1/2 cup of nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Cooking spray

N.B. Use Chef Remi Measuring Cups Set and Chef Remi Measuring Spoons for accurate measuring of ingredients.

Directions:

How to make your ‘Fried’ Chicken:

1. Remove the skin of your garlic cloves by using the flat of a paring knife blade to bash each clove on a wooden cutting board. Then mince your garlic finely.
2. Easily remove the skin and fat off your chicken by using heavy duty kitchen shears (much easier and safer than using a knife on slippery flesh), and then cut into drumsticks and thighs.
3. In a shallow dish, whisk the minced garlic, hot sauce, buttermilk and Dijon mustard well using a small balloon whisk.
4. Now, add the chicken. Kids love getting their hands messy, so get them to make sure the chicken pieces are well coated in the sauce,
5. Cover the chicken and place into the fridge to marinate for at least up to 30 minutes (up to 8 hours is preferable).
6. Place a BBQ grill mat onto a baking sheet, place into the oven and preheat to 425°F. If cooking outside, place the BBQ grill mat directly onto the grill grates and heat. Using a BBQ grill mat means that you don’t need to coat grates or baking sheets with cooking oil, reducing fat intake.
7. While the oven / BBQ is heating, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sesame seeds, thyme, paprika, baking powder, salt and pepper. Then, place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag.
8. Take the chicken out of the fridge and shake off excess marinade. Now, get your children to place each piece of chicken, one by one, into the flour mixture to coat thoroughly, before shaking off excess and placing onto the BBQ grill mat.
9. Once the chicken pieces are all laid out on the BBQ grill mat, spray them with cooking spray.
10. Cook the chicken for about 40-50 minutes, turning once using a pair of kitchen tongs, until they are golden brown.
11. Insert a cooking thermometer into the middle of each chicken and make sure it registers to 180°F (the safe temperature for cooked chicken).

Tools Used:

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Paring knife
• Cutting board
• Kitchen shears
• Kitchen whisk set
• BBQ grill mats
• Kitchen tong set
• Cooking thermometer

Chef Remi recommends:

Our nonstick Chef Remi Grill Mat is ideal for outdoor barbecuing as well as indoor grilling.

It eliminates the need to add oil spray to make surfaces nonstick, which only adds extra calories. As it is a reusable BBQ grill mat, it also works out cheaper and more environmentally friendly than using parchment paper or foil.

Just wipe clean and place flat on the top rack of your dishwasher.

Add this indispensable kitchen and grilling accessory to your collection today.