DOUBLE CRUNCH HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN BREASTS

 

DOUBLE CRUNCH HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN — Tender chicken breast, breaded, fried, then coated in honey garlic sauce!

This Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken was absolutely amazing!  Usually, I don’t find coated, fried chicken recipes worth the hassle and mess, but this was 100% worth it.

And actually, it wasn’t much of a hassle at all. Just be sure to pound your chicken breasts to a uniform thickness, so they cook quickly and evenly. It really makes a difference.

The coating on this chicken is fabulous-thick and crunchy, just the way I like it. And the honey garlic sauce adds a terrific sweet and sour flavor.

Adapted From : letsdishrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 tsp ground sage
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tbsp ground ginger
• 4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp freshly ground nutmeg
• canola oil for frying
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium soy sauce is best
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 8 tbsp water
• 4 tsp salt
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

 
Number One, Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Alternatively, you can slice the breasts by placing them flat on a cutting board and using a very sharp knife to slice them into halves horizontally.
Number Two, Sift together the flour, salt, black pepper, ground ginger, nutmeg, thyme, sage paprika and cayenne pepper. NOTE: This flour and spice dredge mix is sufficient for two batches of this chicken recipe so divide the batch and store 1/2 in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. I always like to make enough for next time...and there's always a next time with this recipe.
Number Three, Make an egg wash by whisking together the eggs and water.
Number Four, Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the breast into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

COOKING THE CHICKEN
Number One, Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chicken does not brown too quickly. The thinness of the breast meat practically guarantees that it will be fully cooked by the time the outside is browned. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
Number Two, Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked breasts into the Honey Garlic Sauce. Serve with noodles or rice.
Number Three, To make the Honey Garlic Sauce:
Number Four,In a medium saucepan add the 2 tbsp olive oil and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown.
Number Five, Add the honey, soy sauce and black pepper.
Number Six, Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

TO MAKE THE OVEN BAKED VERSION
Number One, Follow the recipe exactly as for the fried version but while you are preparing the chicken, heat a baking sheet in a 425F degree oven. Preheating the pan does 2 things; it prevents the chicken from sticking to the pan and it ensures that the heat from the oven starts going directly into the crust on the chicken to make sure it becomes crispy.
Number Two, Dip all your chicken pieces and coat as instructed. As you finish individual pieces, lay them out on a lightly floured cutting board while you finish getting them all ready.
Number Three, When the pieces are all ready, take the hot pan from the oven and lightly oil the bottom of the baking pan with canola oil or other vegetable oil. Use only enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
Number Four, Working as quickly as possible, transfer the chicken pieces to the oiled pan. Do not crowd the pieces together. They should NOT touch each other or they will steam and not get crispy. Leave at least an inch of space between all pieces.

COOKING THE CHICKEN
Number One,Lightly spray the tops of the chicken pieces with vegetable oil. I recommend that you have a spray bottle filled with canola oil to use in any oven fried recipe for chicken, including this one. A simple pump bottle will do. Spraying the tops helps them start to get crispy in the hot oven too.
Number Two, Maintain the heat at 425 degrees F and place baking sheet in the oven. I use the second lowest rack in my oven.
Number Three, Bake for 15 minutes without opening the door! Take the pan out of the oven and flip all of the chicken pieces over.
Number Four, Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the chicken pieces brown nicely and become crispy. Again don't open the door, maintaining a hot oven is important for this method.
Number Five, Dip the baked pieces in the sauce as usual and serve immediately.

Share this post