, Step by step

Oven-baked Southern-style chicken with rainbow slaw

A healthier twist on this classic chicken and slaw favourite

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service.

Preparation Time: 10 mins, plus marinading time

Cooking Time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken thighs
FOR THE MARINADE
300ml buttermilk
1 tbsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
FOR THE COATING
2 free range eggs
60g plain flour
180g Panko breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper
FOR THE COLESLAW
½ red cabbage, shredded
½ small white cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated
½ red onion, sliced
150g mayonnaise
Salt & pepper

Method

Step 1

Make the marinade by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Step 2

Add the chicken thighs to the marinade, cover and leave to marinate overnight, or for as long as possible.
Step 3

Once the chicken has marinated, prepare three bowls for the coating; one bowl of beaten eggs, one bowl of seasoned flour and one bowl of breadcrumbs.
Step 4

Firstly, shake off any excess marinade, dip the chicken into the flour, then into the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs, ensuring the chicken is completely coated at each stage.
Step 5

Place the pieces of chicken onto a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200˚C for 30-40 minutes, until browned and the juices run clear.
Step 6

To make the coleslaw, place the vegetables into a bowl, season and mix well. Add the mayonnaise and mix until evenly coated.

Nutrition

Southern fried chicken has been described as the ‘original soul food’, originating in the American Southern states, but now popular world-wide.
In fact, rather surprisingly, in Japan it has become a tradition to eat American style fried chicken on Christmas Day!
In the US, fried chicken has its own National Day of July 6th! However, the true origins of Southern fried chicken appear to be somewhat uncertain.
It is documented that it was traditional for fried chicken to be eaten by enslaved African Americans after church on a Sunday. It was thought to be a modification of chicken recipes brought by these people from West Africa, but this is disputed.
Surprisingly it has also been suggested that there is evidence from some early British cookery books and other writings that battered chicken fried in lard was a Scottish dish and that it might have been introduced into the Southern states and to the enslaved African Americans by Scottish slaveholders.
Southern fried chicken cooked in the traditional way is of course high in fat and not very healthy. However, Mark’s recipe this month provides a lighter way of cooking this delicious dish with a buttermilk marinade and baking the chicken. Removing the skin from the chicken thighs before cooking would also reduce the fat content of the dish.
The chicken is traditionally eaten with a slaw, which adds one or two portions of your 5 A Day. If you want to make the slaw slightly healthier too, try making it with a reduced fat mayonnaise or substituting half the mayo with some natural or Greek yoghurt.