Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Hi dabblers. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. The end of the semester and the holidays have kept me away from blogging, but I wanted to get a recipe to you before the New Year. This creation is one of my mom's and is fantastically easy and delicious. The parmesan crust gives this oven-baked chicken the delectable crunch of fried chicken. This is a go-to dinner recipe for me and has been given a big thumbs up from my fiance. It would also be great for a casual New Year's gathering with your favorite people.

Enjoy this recipe and cheers to a healthy and happy New Year for you and yours!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken


Ingredients
-5 chicken drumsticks, skin on (you could also substitute your favorite cut of chicken)
-extra-virgin olive oil
-sea salt
-black pepper
-garlic powder
-red pepper (cayenne)
-dried oregano
-parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange roasting rack on a sheet pan and set aside. Gather ingredients.
2. Place drumsticks in a large bowl.
3. Cover drumsticks with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, red pepper, oregano, and parmesan cheese. Mix with your hands and thoroughly coat the chicken.
4. Arrange the drumsticks on the roasting rack and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until juices run clear and chicken is cooked through to the bone.
5. Enjoy!

Pictures and Tips:

Step 1. I like to assemble all of the ingredients in advance to make the process of coating the chicken go quickly. Also, when coating chicken, I like to use one hand for mixing the chicken and keep one hand clean for adding further ingredients. You don't want to cross-contaminate (this is also why I have already removed the caps from my spice jars).

Step 2. Place the drumsticks into a large bowl.

 Step 3. Coat the drumsticks liberally with olive oil. This will help the skin to become crispy when the chicken is baked.

 Next, liberally sprinkle the chicken with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, red pepper (adjust for your desired heat level), and oregano.

 Add parmesan cheese.

 Mix the chicken with your hands to thoroughly coat the skin. Make sure to collect the parmesan cheese bits that have gathered at the bottom of the bowl and redistribute them to the chicken.

Step 4. Arrange the chicken on a roasting rack (this allows the heat to reach all sides of the chicken evenly) and bake for approximately 45 minutes. The juices of the chicken will run clean when the chicken is cut with a knife and the meat will be white through to the bone.  Adjust the cooking time for the size and cut of your chicken pieces. 

Step 5. Enjoy!

Happy New Year Dabblers. Hope yours is filled with delicious dishes and wonderful people to share them with :)

-The Delicious Dabbler