Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Faux Fried Chicken & Biscuits

I've noticed lately that whenever there is one of those commercials for fast food chicken & biscuits comes on TV Matt makes a comment about how good they look. So, I decided to make him my own version at home.
faux fried chicken & biscuits
I figured I could make them a little healthier by baking the chicken instead of frying. I used the same basic technique that I've done in the past for faux fried chicken but this time I used boneless chicken breasts & changed the seasoning up a bit.

Faux Fried Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c buttermilk
6 T fine bread crumbs
2 T grated Parmesan
1 t ancho chile powder
1 t grated lemon zest
salt & pepper

The night or morning before you plan on making the chicken, pound it with a mallet until its an even thickness. Cut the chicken breasts in half & put in plastic bag with the buttermilk.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, ancho, lemon zest & salt & pepper together in a shallow bowl. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Take the chicken pieces out of the buttermilk & dip them in the bread crumbs, pressing in on to coat. Put the chicken on the baking sheet & bake for 10 minutes. Then turn the chicken over & allow to bake for 10 - 15 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Biscuits
(adapted from Small-Batch Baking)

1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 T unsalted butter, cold
7 T - 8 T heavy cream
melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Shift the flour, baking powder & salt together into a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces (if the butter warms up put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Add the butter to the flour & use two knives to cut it in until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle 7 T of cream over the dough & use a fork to toss it until a dough begins to form. Add the remaining cream if the dough isn't coming together. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl quickly, just 5 to 6 kneads. Put the dough on a floured surface & shape into a 5-inch square about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Brush a little melted butter on a baking sheet & place the biscuits on the butter. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until risen & golden brown. Brush a little melted butter on top of the hot biscuits.

Slice the biscuits in half horizontally. Place a piece of chicken between the slices of biscuit.

Makes 4 small sandwiches

This was my first time making biscuits from scratch. The recipe originally called for self-rising flour which I didn't have so I added the baking powder & salt which is supposed to make an appropriate substitute. I had hoped the biscuits would have risen a little higher but I'm not sure if the problem was this substitution or because I handled the dough too much. They did turn out really flaky & tasted great though.

Matt like his sandwiches with a little mustard on them. I thought they were perfect with just the buttery biscuit & the chicken.

10 comments:

  1. Yum! I will definetly be trying this one! We made the rolls yesterday. And they were a HIT! I do need them to rise a bit more, we were to hungry to wait so we put them in the oven. But tonight I am making more and letting them rise! YUM! Thanks again!

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  2. These look so much better than the ones on the commercials!

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  3. These look really good! When I make biscuits I actually freeze the butter and grate it into the dough. It seems to help given them a little lift. I saw it on the show Chef at Home awhile ago.

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  4. do you guys have southern-style biscuits at McDonalds up there? That's what your biscuits look like. Mustard and pickles sound like good ideas on these little guys. Do you remember chicken littles from KFC? Another fast food creation these remind me of.

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  5. Glad you went with a healthier version! They look great!

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  6. Those look purely delectable! I always forget how much I love biscuits. Looks like yours came out really nice and flaky - you'd never know it was your first time making them!

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  7. ah, the power of suggestion. :)
    i'd prefer this version to any and all fried chicken ever made. it looks perfectly moist and much easier on the body. :)

    (how rude of me to ignore the biscuit--it looks scrumptious too.)

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  8. Beats the popular fast food version!

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  9. That's very sweet of you. The Southern chicken sandwich breakfast commercials do look good, but yours looks even better!

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  10. The recipes are concise, easy to follow, and, I only made the faux fried chicken one but it came out more or less as expected, and tasted superb. Thanks Matt!

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