Favorite Crunchy Chicken

I don't remember where I found this recipe, but it's one I've been meaning to try for ages. I do now note where I find things though because otherwise it's a bit frustrating not knowing the source, so my apologies to whoever it was that posted it. However this wonderful comment precedes it - "This recipe is from the late novelist Laurie Colwin, who wrote two wonderful books of recipes and food anecdotes, called "Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking". She claimed to have made this recipe for every dinner party she hosted for 8 years, until her friends finally asked her to 'cool it'." Lol, if that is really true then Laurie Colwin must have thought this to be a particularly good recipe or else it was the least stressful in her repertoire to make when entertaining! Maybe somebody who has the book where this recipe features could give more details.

The original recipe calls for two chickens cut into quarters ... fine for entertaining but far too much for a small household like ours. Also I don't particularly like chicken breast done in the oven as it tends to dry out. I opted for thighs although you could make this with whatever cuts of chicken you like. Maybe you'll be thinking there's a tremendous amount of mustard used to coat the chicken, but please don't cut back, it mellows during baking and you really don't notice it in the eating, just a deep flavour without any heat. This is my scaled down adaptation of the recipe, I actually had six thighs ... so two each for dinner and two to nibble on from the fridge :)

I don't do fried chicken, I can't be bothered with all the faffing around ... plus I don't feel it's very healthy. This recipe gives a very similar result but is so much easier, and you get all of that wonderful crunch without the calories! Plus the meat becomes so very tender because of the mustard. This smelt fantastically whilst baking, I could hardly wait to see how it turned out. The waiting was well worth it though, the chicken was crispy and golden, and full of flavour ... and it's so easy it's unbelievable! Give it a try, I assure you it will be a hit with both adults and children alike.

Favorite Crunchy Chicken - Serves 4

6 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tspn fresh thyme leaves, chopped or 1 tspn dried
freshly ground black pepper
good pinch cinnamon
8 chicken thighs with skin, or other cuts of your choice
1 cup breadcrumbs, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
20g unsalted butter
1 tspn sweet paprika

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

In a bowl, combine the mustard, garlic, thyme, pepper and cinnamon. Coat the chicken pieces with the mustard mixture. Roll each piece in the bread crumbs and arrange in a shallow baking pan. Dot each piece of chicken with some of the butter and sprinkle with the paprika.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until done, exact timing will depend upon the size and cut of your chicken pieces. See below.

Cook's note: I had some commercial Spanish breadcrumbs that contain garlic and dried parsley to use up and so went with that. I think Italian breadcrumbs are similar, so if you can find them that would be a good choice.

The baking time in the original recipe was two and a half hours at 170ºC which seems incredibly long for chicken quarters. I upped the temperature slightly and started checking after 40 minutes.