Buttermilk Baked Chicken

I had two containers of Buttermilk in my fridge that I wanted to use. It's great for baking - I use it in different loaves and muffins, but I wanted to use it with my chicken breasts I had defrosting.

Awhile back I saw a recipe for Buttermilk Fried Chicken but I didn't want to fry my supper, and I remembered that the recipe called for Corn Flakes which I didn't want to use. Besides I couldn't remember exactly what site it was on! So I decided to do my own thing. The result was very tasty and easy!

Here's what I used:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
about 1 cup of buttermilk
1 Tbsp. mustard with seeds (grainy mustard)
pepper and salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp. each)
1 tsp. Fine Herbes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder. Normally I'd use fresh but I was all out of garlic cloves.

The above ingredients are the marinade. Just mix them together and pour over the defrosted chicken breasts. Then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. If the buttermilk doesn't cover the breasts, add a bit more. You can see that I also put out Tabasco sauce but at the last minute I decided I didn't want to use it.

Chicken Breasts in Buttermilk Marinade

When it was time to cook the breasts, I made the following mix to coat them:

about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Panko bread crumbs. Trust me and don't switch this out for plain or flavoured "regular" bread crumbs!
1 Tbsp. Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp. Fine Herbes
about 1 tsp. Virgin Olive Oil

Mix all these ingredients together to make kind of  a homemade Shake 'n Bake crumb mixture. Take the chicken breasts out of the marinade and roll them, one at a time, in the Panko mix. You can add other spices or herbes to suit your taste. Play with it and have fun!

Ready to put the chicken in the Panko Mixture

After coating the breasts in the Panko mixture, spray a rack (which fits inside a baking pan) with canola oil and place the breasts on it. Put it inside the baking pan and cook in a 375' oven about 50 to 60 minutes. Watch the breasts carefully after the first 50 minutes so they don't burn. But you want them cooked fully inside.

Ready for the oven

I served ours with baked yams and steamed Brussels sprouts. I would definitely make this again!

Ready to eat!