Monday, September 14, 2009

Not bad for oven 'fried'


Homemade Shake-and-Bake Chicken
365 Ways To Cook Chicken Copyright 1986

½ cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
>4 chicken legs and thighs I used a whole chicken cut up
½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, paprika, salt, garlic powder, thyme, and pepper in a plastic bag. Dip chicken legs in milk; shake off excess. Add chicken to bag and shake to coat evenly.

Place chicken on a greased baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes, until chicken is tender and coating crisp. I started skin side down, then flipped the chicken after about 30 minutes.
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I've had 365 Ways to Cook Pasta since around the time it was published in the late 80s when I was working in the publisher's warehouse during a college break. We could buy returns for $1 or less. A couple of years ago I picked up 365 Easy Low-Calorie Recipes which is the same style of book from the same publisher. Once I realized how much I liked these books, I decided I wanted the chicken version but it was out of print and even though it's still available from several sources, I never got around to acquiring a copy of it. Last week I picked it up at a yard sale for 25 cents. Score!

I haven't had Shake-and-Bake since I lived at home. My mom liked to buy it, mainly for pork chops but often for chicken too. While this wasn't as salty and 'in-your-face' as I recall Shake-and-Bake to be, it was still pretty good. Though it doesn't do much for the flavor of the chicken meat itself.

I made this last week on Labor Day since we had our cookouts on Saturday and Sunday. So I was able to bake it and put it right on the table which I think was better for the crispy coating but the flavor might have improved if I had cooked it ahead of time.

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried the real Shake and Bake?

4 comments:

M Smith said...

Yep! The only one I like is the Hot n Spicy version. I use it for fish all of the time.

B and the boys said...

Yes, but haven't made it since I was first married. It began to taste too salty to me and today I don't think my kids would go for it. I may try this homemade version though.

Heather said...

I think it was a staple in a lot of 80s households when I was a teenager! My mom also used a product called "Oven Fry" which I think is basically the same thing.

The Cookbook Junkie said...

Oven Fry! Yes, I think we used this brand even more than Shake-and-Bake too.