Picnic Chicken with Three Sauces
Instructions:
- This walnut-crusted baked chicken is delicious hot or cold, especially when dipped into one of our easy sauces. olive oil nonstick cooking spray
- 13â„4 cups walnuts (about 8 ounces)
- 1 cup plain dried bread crumbs
- 11â„2 teaspoons salt
- 1â„4 to 1â„2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 2 large eggs
- 8 medium bone-in chicken breast halves (4 pounds), skin removed
- 8 medium chicken drumsticks (13â„4 pounds), skin removed
- choice of sauce ( see below)
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease two 151â„2" by 101â„2" jelly-roll pans with cooking spray.
- In food processor with knife blade attached, process walnuts with 1â„4 cup bread crumbs until walnuts are finely ground. In medium bowl, combine nut mixture, salt, ground red pepper, and remaining 3â„4 cup bread crumbs; stir until well mixed. In pie plate, beat eggs.
- Cut each chicken breast half crosswise into two pieces. One at a time, dip breast pieces and drumsticks in beaten egg, then into walnut mixture to coat evenly, pressing firmly so mixture adheres. Arrange chicken in jelly-roll pans; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray.
- Bake chicken until golden brown and juices run clear when thickest part of chicken is pierced with tip of knife, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pans between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking.
- Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Cover and refrigerate sauce if not serving right away.
- Serve chicken hot with dipping sauce, or cool chicken slightly, cover, and refrigerate to serve cold later with sauce. Makes 12 main-dish servings.
- Blue-Cheese Sauce
- In medium bowl, combine 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup), 1â„2 cup mayonnaise, 1â„2 cup plain lowfat yogurt, 1â„2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, and 1â„4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper until blended. Makes about 11â„2 cups sauce.
- Creamy Honey-Mustard Sauce
- In medium bowl, combine 2â„3 cup Dijon mustard, 1â„4 cup sour cream, 1â„4 cup honey, and 3â„4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce until well blended. Makes about 11â„4 cups sauce.
- Apricot-Balsamic Sauce
- In medium bowl, combine 1 jar (12 ounces) apricot preserves, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1â„4 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel until well blended. Makes about 11â„4 cups sauce.