It would be nice to be able to come up with a more original name for this recipe, but the real truth is that I intentionally set out to trump Shake and Bake chicken/pork coating. The resulting coating is a clear winner. With the addition of dipping the chicken in a mayo/vinegar mixture prior to adding the crispy seasoned panko bread coating puts this chicken over the moon.
At first I thought about making a Shake and Bake copy cat, but yesterday as I finally set out on the project, I quickly realized that what I really wanted to do was to make a better coating. I knew that I wanted a panko base for its sheer crispiness. However, I wasn’t certain where to go from there. So, I opened up my spice drawers and considered the various flavors available. Smoked paprika was an immediate easy choice. Garlic and onion, industry standards, were next. Spice Hunter’s poultry seasoning is my favorite poultry seasoning, so that was pretty easy, too. What to do about the salt and pepper? Duh–Johnny’s seasoning salt, of course. Parsley got thrown in for good measure, more for color than for taste. Let’s be honest, dried parsley doesn’t really bring a whole lot to the party, but it does bring some color.
Flour seemed a logical enough choice to provide good coverage and some depth to the browning possibilities. Corn meal would bring a little flavor as well as some crunchiness to the coating.
I looked at my chosen ingredients and decided that they were the team. I couldn’t think of anything else to add. Then came the next issue, however; how to get the breading to stay on the chicken. I wanted something special; something that would bring some big life to the party. Mayo was a good beginning, but it needed something more. Vinegar! Mayo + apple cider vinegar = knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark flavor. Za zing!
The chicken turned out perfectly crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. The mayo-vinegar combo was amazing and worked outrageously well with the crispy coating.
Since the coating ingredients are shelf-stable, I made a double batch of it and put it in a jar to have on hand for the next time I make this chicken, which will probably be on Sunday. I am so happy!
Recipe by Terri @ that's some good cookin'
Ingredients
- 6-8 pieces of chicken--can be bone-in, skin-on or can use boneless, skinless
- 1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup white flour
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt (I used Johnny's; it's the BEST)
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (I strongly encourage you to use smoked paprika. It can be found in the spice isle with the rest of the spices. If your store does not sell it, talk to your grocer about that little issue.)
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I used Spice Hunter brand.)
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 1 cup good quality mayonnaise
- 2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat ovento 375-degrees F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with aluminum foil, then spraying foil with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk or shake together the panko bread crumbs, white flour, cornmeal, dried parsley flakes, seasoning salt, smoked paprika, poultry seasoning, granulated onion, and granulated garlic. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and the apple cider vinegar. Because various mayonnaise brands differ in thickness, the amount of vinegar needed to make a good consistency for dipping the chicken will vary. I used Best Foods mayo (Hellman's on the East Coast) and 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. I could have used up to 3 tablespoons vinegar and I think that it would have still been a good consistency with good flavor for coating the chicken. The consistency should be about the same as barbecue sauce.
- Rinse chicken pieces under cool running water. Pat dry.
- Dip chicken piece on both sides first in the mayo/vinegar coating; then dip on both sides in the bread coating.
- Place on baking sheet. For bone-in chicken, bake for 30-40 minutes just until the juices run clear or until a meat thermometer registers 165-degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. For boneless, skinless chicken, bake for 20-30 minutes until the juices the run clear and/or a meat thermometer registers 165-degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.
- Serve immediately for best crunch factor! ;)
About Terri @ that's some good cookin'
Terri,
Just re-pinned this on Pinterest and I can’t wait to try this recipe. Looks Delicious! Thanks for sharing
Michelle
That’s a delicious recipe you came up with!
That’s really some amazing looking chicken! I love that you dipped it in mayo first…I have never seen that.
I would definitely want to try this out and I’m positive my family would love it. Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. ~ Ramona 
That chicken looks PERFECT! I love your photos – really beautiful
mickey
Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
This looks oh so yummy! I love finding new chicken recipes and the spice mixture looks amazing on this. Can’t wait to try this
That looks great! I use shake & bake alot so it’s nice that I can make my own and control the ingredients. I also make the chicken that uses the mayo, the recipe in all the mayo ads and commercials so this is like a combo. Good job! I do have a question though why did you name it Trump chicken? The Donald does not deserve it.
Totally agree with The Donald comment. I didn’t even think about the association with His Majesty (gag, sputter, hiss) until well after I had posted the recipe. The “trump” was intended to refer to the recipe trumping Shake and Bake’s mix. I ought to come up with a different name just so that no one associates this chicken with Donald ‘Voldemort’ Trump. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the yummy chicken recipe! It looks so good! Thanks for linking up to our Strut Your Stuff Saturday! We loved having you and hope you will come back soon! -The Sisters
I’m glad I came home Sunday night and tried this chicken. It was freaking delicious. I may or may not have eaten all the breading left on the pan. Whoops. And p.s. I love the new blog design
I’m glad that you came home, too, so that I could see you for a minute. You were more than welcome to the breading, which I may or may not have noticed was all gone. P.S. I love that you love the new blog design.
and some of this too…