Baked Crispy Chicken Thighs

I wanted to make a crispy chicken without having to make as much mess as when I make milanesas. One of the differences between this technique of mixing the panko with grated cheese, the chicken with a little oil and not breading the chicken with flour, egg and then breadcrumbs like a traditional milanesa is that the crust will crumble when you cut it or transfer to the plate from the baking sheet. The panko mixture has grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and a little oil, when baking the chicken these ingredients will help the bread crumbs to stick together.

The result: it is super tasty and crunchy but a little messy. When you cut the chicken you will see how the crunchy bread crumbs will come out everywhere, the good thing is that in each bite you will have all the flavor of the crunchy crust and the bad thing is that if you have children and you don't cut it for them, they will make a big mess. I prepared the chicken thighs the day before baking them, put them in a smaller tray to fit in the fridge and when it was time for cooking I distributed them between two trays. For the chicken pieces to cook evenly and be crispy, it is important that when placing them on the baking sheet there is space between the pieces. When you try this recipe, let me know if you used breast, thighs or drumsticks. Enjoy!

Serves: 3 to 4 people Preparation time:15 to 20 mins Cooking time: about 20 minutes, depends on the chicken pieces

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces. I used 8 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in

2 cups of panko bread crumbs

½ tablespoon garlic powder

½ tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dried herbs. I used a combination of dried parsley, oregano and chives

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, mozzarella works too

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix the panko with the garlic powder, paprika, dried herbs, salt and grated cheese

2. In another bowl, toss the chicken with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil

3. Piece by piece, dip in the breadcrumb mixture and press a with your hands, so that the breadcrumbs stick better

4. Place the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet prepared with baking paper

5. Remember to leave space between the chicken pieces so that they cook evenly

6. Mix the leftover breadcrumbs with a drizzle of oil and spread over the chicken, pressing on top with your hands

7. Do not move the chicken too much so that the bread does not fall off, the grated cheese and the oil will help the bread to stick to the chicken

8. Bake at 375 until a cooking thermometer reads 165 or higher.

Tips:

Since I used skin on, bone in chicken pieces when I reheated the leftovers few days later there where juice and tasty