Oven-Fried Buttermilk Ranch Chicken

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This has got to be, hands down, in my top five favorite chicken meals. I'm not even a fan of food you have to work for (crab legs, wings, ribs, etc.) so you know that's saying a lot. But my husband loves chicken on a bone, so I gladly gave up my whole "only-eat-dinner-with-a-fork" thing for him. I did it. And I loved it. I mean loooooved it. 

It's seriously some of the most tender chicken I've had. The trick is to let the chicken sit in the buttermilk mixture for as long as possible. The chicken becomes SO moist while cooking because of this. And the ranch flavor? Oh.My.Goodness. It's just the best. Simply the best. And although the drumsticks weren't fried, they still came out crispy and crunchy. So we saved some calories and still had a delicious meal. Having to work a little bit for my meal was well worth it on this occasion! Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 (1 oz.) package dry ranch dressing mix
• 3 1/2 lb. cut drumsticks
• Cooking spray

Breading:

• 1 cup Bisquick mix
• 1 (1 oz.) package dry ranch dressing mix 
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt 
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Remove skin from chicken.

In large resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix buttermilk, dressing mix and chicken. Seal bag; turn bag several times to coat chicken. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 425°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch pan with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. In shallow dish, mix breading ingredients. Remove chicken pieces one at a time from buttermilk mixture. Dip chicken in breading, turning to coat completely; shake off excess. Place chicken, bone side down, in pan. Lightly spray top of chicken with cooking spray.

Bake 45-50 minutes, turning halfway through, or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest piece is cut to bone (170°F for breasts; 180°F for thighs and legs).

Source: Adapted from Pillsbury