Chicharrones Oven Fried Chicken

Yes, really, I said Chicharrones Oven Fried Chicken. Chicharrones sounds so much better than pork rinds. I have been trying creative ways to adapt recipes to a low carb lifestyle. This one is a winner.

If you have extra time then brining the chicken keeps it much more moist. But it came out delicious without it. It was so crisp and delicious it was as good as KFC I think. So start with bone in, skin on chicken (you can remove the skin but why???? if you do then brining is necessary). We like the breasts but you can use any other chicken parts or a combination.

Heat oven to 425. Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour in a foil lined baking sheet:

Take a bag of chicharrones and pound them into crumbs. You can use the bag they come in but open it first to let the air out. Or put them in a ziploc. Pour into a pie tin and drizzle some vegetable oil over. Toss well to coat. In another pie tin mix 2 eggs, 1 TBS dijon mustard, 1 tsp thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne.

Put chicken pieces one at a time in the egg mixture. I lifted the skin and spread some of the mixture underneath to get the flavors inside. Then place in the crumb pan and sprinkle the crumbs over the chicken and press to coat on both sides. Place the chicken skin side down in the pan with the butter. Bake 25 minutes then turn the pieces over. I was worried that the crumbs would come off but they were stuck to the chicken just fine when I turned them. Bake another 25 minutes skin side up and voila:

I'm tellin ya it was soooo good. Crispy, juicy, flavorful. Here's a close up:

We mostly eat the boneless skinless chicken marinated and grilled. But this is a heavenly treat.