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Roast Chicken (Shake & Bake Style)

About this recipe

Here’s the original coated-chicken recipe from before Colonel Sanders screwed it all up. In the olden days, people used to bake their coated chicken; they never fried it. Back then, frying chicken was considered foolish since everybody knows chickens can’t fry.

Instructions

Wash:

4-5 lb. chicken pieces (remove skin from breasts and thighs, leave skin on legs and wings).

Place in a bowl with:

3-4 tbsp. olive oil,
3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh sage and/or rosemary,
1½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, and ½ tsp. garlic powder (or 2-3 whole cloves, squashed and later discarded before breading).

Mix, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or more).

In a large bowl, make a mixture of:

2-3 cups breadcrumbs,
3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley,
¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper.

In another bowl, beat together:

3 large eggs,
¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper.

Dip each chicken piece in beaten egg and coat in breadcrumbs. Place on cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Bake at 375°F (even 400°F) for 45 minutes, then turn and bake another 30 minutes. The chicken is done when it’s golden brown.

Notes

You can bread the chicken the night before.
If you double or triple the batch, it will take longer to cook.
The longer you leave it in the fridge, the stronger the spice gets.
This is great for a party (make ahead and just nuke before serving), or to take to a picnic.
It’s best to use chicken with bones. Buy those fresh legs with backs attached and split them into leg, thigh, and back. Then use the backs for chicken soup.
Okay, you could fry the chicken. Use canola or vegetable oil, and make sure it’s just the right temperature. Too hot and the chicken burns; too cold and oil soaks into the meat.
You can also do half and half by lightly frying and then finishing in the oven for 60 minutes (30 and 30). Some parts of Italy consider this way even better than the other two. Then again, they’re not the experts.