Almond Crusted Chicken

 This recipe is a keeper! Nutty, versatile and fast. 15 minutes for making breadcrumbs and bake for about 20 minutes (depending on thickness of the chicken).

I found the basis for the recipe from Cooks Illustrated, but you can't actually see the recipe unless you sign up... so I found another blogger who made their recipe :) See here. Basically I didn't follow the recipe at all, I just took the breadcrumb technique from them.

Melt some butter in a pan. I added oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper at this point.

Meanwhile use the food processor (I love using this machine..) to chop the nuts. I used almonds because they were the cheapest. I wanted to use pecans or macadamia nuts... but it was about twice as expensive. FYI the 99 has macadamia crusted chicken... its amazing.

Once the butter is melted, wait a few more minutes. It should start to turn a golden brown. Once that happens change the temp to med low and add in the panko breadcrumbs and the almonds. Stir it around gathering up all the butter and spices. Stir occasionally but this step toasts the almonds.The kitchen starts to smell awesome at this point.

I want to point out that we used panko breadcrumbs. This blogger gives more information about panko. But long story short, these are Japanese breadcrumbs, flakier and bigger than regular style, and don't absorb grease as much either. This yields a crispy and crunchy crust for whatever you are cooking.

Time to get the chicken ready! I used thin sliced chicken breast because it cooks faster and I'm an inpatient chef. The recipe says to pierce the chicken a few times with a fork and salt it. I did it, I didn't notice any changes though. Does anyone else know?

Flour the chicken and shake off any excess.
Dip it in the egg mix and let the extra drip off.
Then go ahead and put it in the heavenly breadcrumbs.

I used foil in my pan for faster clean up.

Bake at 350 for about 15-25 minutes. I'd keep an eye on the chicken though, you don't want it over cooked but the cooking time really changes based on the thickness.

This also makes about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds (8 pieces of chicken).

What would I change next time? I would be more patient when browning the butter. I would try different nuts. I'd add in more oregano, closer to 2 tsp because I like oregano.

Almond Crusted Chicken
Serves approx 8

4 tbsp butter
1 tsp oregano, garlic powder, onion powder
Salt & Pepper
1 cup Panko Bread crumbs
1 cup chopped almonds
2 lbs of chicken (8 chicken breast, thin slice)
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten

1. Melt butter with the spices. Once melted wait another 4-5 minutes for butter to turn light brown. Add in bread crumbs and almonds.
2. Lower temp to med low. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Taste to see if you need more seasonings.
3. Put some flour in a bowl and beat 2 eggs in another bowl.
4. Coat chicken in the flour. Shake off excess. Dip it in the egg, let excess drip. Dip in bread crumbs. Press crumbs in as needed.
5. Place in casserole dish and cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!!