Best Southern Fried Chicken Batter

Fried chicken is one of those dishes that are simple in design, but can easily fall apart in execution. It is one of the most comforting foods, but it also tends to annoy most cooks. It is deceptively simple: it is tender and juicy on the inside, and its crust is crisp and tasty. Two elements. What can go wrong?
All kinds of things. Soggy, greasy crust, over- or undercooked chicken, bland flavor, dry texture – the list seems daunting. The fantasy of a beautiful mahogany brown piece of crisp southern goodness flies out the window after a few failures, and a trip to the drive for a bucket of this guy’s business in a white suit seems the best that most of us can come up with.
Except that there are ways to solve each of these problems when you have a little culinary magic at your disposal. Here’s how to make the magic happen.

Ingredients:

3 cooking spray(s)
1 pound(s) boneless, skinless, uncooked chicken breast(s), four 4 oz. pieces
1/2 tsp. table salt, divided, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided, or to taste
1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
3 oz of light buttermilk
1/2 cup(s) corn flake crumbs

Instructions :

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly coat a 13 X 8 X 2 inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Season chicken with salt and cayenne pepper to taste; set aside.

Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Place buttermilk and crumbled corn flakes in two separate shallow bowls.

Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and coat evenly on both sides. Then dip the chicken in the buttermilk and turn it over to coat both sides. Finally, dip the chicken in the cornflake crumbs and turn to coat on both sides.

Place the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish. Cook until chicken is tender and no longer pink in the center, about 25 to 30 minutes (there’s no need to turn the chicken during cooking). Makes 1 chicken breast per serving.

Serves: 4
WW SP: 4