Country Baked Chicken
READ THIS FIRST: I admit that I am not a huge fan of mayonnaise, and I use it as sparingly as possible-but the mayo coat makes this chicken SO JUICY. As with all tenders, the key is get equal-sized tenders, to ensure they cook evenly. If your tenders aren't equal size/thickness, you will likely have both undercooked and overcooked/dry tenders-seriously detracting from your delicious meal. The spice is great, and it's a pretty easy tender to assemble. Give it a try, you won't regret it!
Ingredients
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- 4 large chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
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- 2 cups mayonnaise
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- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
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- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
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- 3 tbsp paprika
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- 2 cups panko
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- 1 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a wire cooking rack on a cookie sheet (the cookie sheet will catch any panko that falls from your nuggets).
- Trim and cut your chicken into tender-sized pieces. Whatever size you consider this to be, the key is to have equal pieces-this ensures they will cook evenly.
- In a large freezer bag, assemble the wet coat: add mayo, ground black pepper, granulated garlic, and 1 tablespoon of paprika. Mix thouroughly, ensuring there are no pockets of spice.
- Add chicken nuggets to the freezer bag, tossing to coat.
- In a medium bowl, combine the panko with the remaining paprika and garlic salt, ensuring the paprika and garlic are evenly distributed within the panko.
- Coat each nugget with the panko mixture, placing each breaded nugget on the wire cooking rack. **I typically dedicate one hand to the wet mixture and one hand to the dry, to keep your breading as clean as possible. Use one hand to pull the nugget from the bag, placing on top of the breading. Use your other hand to toss the breading over the nugget.
- Place cookie sheet and wire rack in oven, cooking for 25 minutes (longer if you have larger nuggets)s.