So, because of my love of these scrumptious little morsels, I decided there must be a better way to make them. It took some trial and error to get them crunchy while baked in the oven, but I think I may have cracked the code.
What you're gonna need:
-Chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut into strips
-3-4 eggs
-Flour
-Panko bread crumbs
-Olive oil
-Salt & Pepper
-4 dishes (I used foil pie pans from the dollar store.)
Try to set yourself up as best you can to make the coating process quick and easy. I have a VERY small kitchen, so I tend to use my cutting boards over my sink when I need extra room. In fact, that's what I did for the baking sheet so it was right next to my breading station. I use a double coating method for the chicken to get that crunchy texture.
1st dish: 1 egg beaten w/salt & pepper
2nd dish: 1-2 cups of flour
3rd dish: 2 eggs beaten
4th dish: Panko bread crumbs
Start by putting one or two pieces of chicken into the first dish of beaten egg. Make sure both sides are coated in the egg mixture.
Then let the extra egg drip off for a few seconds before you put it into the flour dish. Coat both sides with the flour.
Gently shake off the excess flour then put it in the second dish of beaten eggs. It's very important to make sure all the flour is covered with egg otherwise the panko won't stick in the next step.
Now, the final dish...panko! I tend to put the chicken piece in the dish then cover it with panko and press it in. Flip it over and do this again. Then put it on an ungreased baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top so they brown nicely.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. I like to flip them halfway through so they get browned evenly.
Also, I have found that my oven doesn't always reach the temperature I set it on. I never had this problem with electric ovens, but I now have a gas one and it's very random. lol So, I got an oven thermometer from Bed Bath & Beyond that hangs in my oven and tells me what temperature it actually is. I've always been a decent cook, so when I started using this oven and nothing was turning out right I got really frustrated, but this has helped tremendously. Best $5.99 investment I've ever made!!
If you're going to freeze these, you will need to cool them completely. You can freeze them before you cook them also, but I like to have them already cooked so I can just pop them into the microwave on days I'm feeling lazy!
I cool mine on wire racks so they don't go soggy.
If you plan on freezing before cooking, place them on the baking sheet and put that in the freezer. Once they're completely frozen, you can put them into a freezer bag.
Enjoy!
<3 Ash
