The Best Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken

Gone are the days of KFC.  The next best thing is this recipe for oven fried chicken that my sister-in-law gave me years ago. All I had to change was the flour and add a few more spices.  What I like about this recipe is it tastes great!  I'm not going to compare it to KFC, but it's the next best thing I've come across so far.

When I was a child, my mother would make fried chicken by putting it in a pot of oil.  Wow, it's a good thing I was a kid and could burn off all those calories! You will be surprised at how little fat is in this recipe.The original recipe calls for an entire cube of butter, but  as you can see from the picture, when it's cooked with just a quarter cup of butter, it still cooked up great.

This chicken has a crunchy crust and the meat  inside is tender and tasty.  It's everything you're looking for in a fried chicken with less calories!

Lesley's Oven Fried Chicken (made gluten free)

1. Prepare chicken: Rinse 2-3 pounds of chicken pieces.  I usually remove the skin on all my chicken recipes to reduce fat.  I guess it depends on how much compromise you're going for here.

2. Make coating:
(1) Mix together 1/3  cup of rice flour, 2/3 cup of cornmeal, 2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. oregano, 1 T Costco's No Salt Seasoning, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese in a medium size bowl. 

Note about using the flour coating:  This makes a lot of chicken, and sometimes I have extras, so I suggest putting some of it at a time onto a plate.  Or you can put some into a plastic bag and shake the chicken. Store any extras in an airtight container. 

3. Prepare chicken for baking: Pour 1/4 cup of buttermilk (milk works, too) into a bowl. Dip each piece in the buttermilk and then put in a bowl and then through a plate with some of the flour/cornmeal mixture or put some of the flour/cornmeal mixture into a plastic bag and shake a few pieces  of chicken at a time  Note I have  also used milk.

4. Prepare 9 x 13 pan:
(1)   Put 1/4 cup of butter in a 9 x 13 pan and set the pan in a 400 degree oven and let the butter melt.
(2)   Then lay the coated chicken pieces into the pan. Cook the chicken uncovered for 25 minutes and then turn them over and cook another 25 minutes. It also works to not flip them. Do what works for you.

List of other  recipes with chicken legs/thighs on this blog:

Asian:
Gluten Free Soy Sauce Chicken   (Modified from Internet search)
Tasty Gluten Free Filipino Chicken Adobo  (Modified from Internet search)
Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Chicken (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Italian & Greek:
Chicken Souvlaki   (Marinade for chicken from my son-in-law)
Gluten Free Chicken Cacciatore With Peppers & Mushrooms  (Modified from Internet search)
Delicious Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan   (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Mexican:
Pollo Guisado (Mexican Braised Chicken)  (From a church friend in Phoenix)
Belizean Chicken, Black Beans & Rice, and Belizean Coleslaw  (From my daughter's family)

American Favorites:
Amazing BBQ Chicken    (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
The Best Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken   (From my sister-in-law)
Fantastic Gluten Free Chicken Kabobs  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Great for Summer BBQ - Lemon Rosemary Chicken Legs  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)