A Healthier Flash Fried Chicken Recipe (Really)

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Fried Chicken. 

My previous attempts at making “healthy” fried chicken were always super disappointing.

The kind that’s cooked in the oven never came out crispy enough for me.

Now, that’s probably my fault and someone out there probably has a recipe for oven baked fried chicken that will knock my socks off.

I’m not sure I’ll ever fry my chicken any other way though.

This recipe has been adapted from this cookbook: Now Eat This!: 150 of America’s Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories

It uses chicken thighs, which are quite cheap.

It also uses grapeseed oil, which isn’t all that cheap. I cut the oil in half for this recipe though and was able to get away with using just 1 quart. You could likely use even less oil as long as you have enough to cover up to about halfway on the chicken (since you flip the chicken halfway through the frying time).

The chicken DOES NOT cook in the oil, so you don’t have to worry about very much oil seeping into the chicken. It’s just to get that crispy, yummy crust.

This chicken has only 204 calories compared to 549 calories in traditional fried chicken. It also cuts the fat grams down from 30 to 10.9!

Flash Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken broth
• salt
• 4 skinless chicken thighs (I actually took the skin off myself to save money)
• 1 quart Grapeseed Oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups low fat buttermilk (I make my own buttermilk. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar then add your milk up to the 1 cup line. Let sit for a few minutes)

Directions:

1. Heat the chicken broth in a big pot and season generously with salt
2. Add your chicken to the pot and bring the broth to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked, around 40 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken and pat dry.
4. Meanwhile, in a large deep pot heat your grapeseed oil to 400 degrees
5. Set a wired rack over some paper towels
6. Mix together your flour and seasonings in one bowl and add your buttermilk to a second bowl.
7. Dip the chicken (one piece at a time) into the buttermilk and then into the flour. Repeat to double coat the chicken. Shake off excess flour.
8. Fry the chicken 2 pieces at a time. It will take around 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.
9. Drain on the wire rack and serve hot.

As always, be incredibly careful when cooking with hot oil. Grapeside oil is used in this recipe for it’s very high smoke point. Keep children out of the kitchen when cooking with oil.

This chicken is crispy and flavorful and sure to be a huge hit!

Enjoy!

Be sure to check out all the frugal recipes here on Family Friendly Frugality!