Pecan-Crusted “Fried” Chicken

This week marks the end of what we call “Birthday Month” in my family. We celebrate five birthdays in the month of March! It’s kind of nuts but we try to have fun with it and I try to make special foods or bake favorite cakes for each person. Some years I do better than others but growing up, I made sure my son, whose birthday is the last one of the month on the 30^th, had his favorite meal. That meal always included fried chicken and chocolate cake.

Oven “fried” chicken soaked in buttermilk and dredged in flour and pecan meal is a delicious alternative to regular fried chicken. Credit: Adobe Stock

Somewhere along the line, I changed out the traditional fried chicken for this pecan-crusted oven-fried chicken and it was a hit. And I’m pretty sure the first pecan crusted chicken recipe I tried was inspired by Emeril Lagasse.

When my kids were little we watched “Emeril Live” on Food Network hosted by Lagasse. It was a great show, taped in front of a live audience with a live band, featuring the flamboyant, James-Beard-award-winning chef creating his Creole, Cajun and Portuguese-inspired dishes and serving them to members of the studio audience. I started collecting his cookbooks back in the day and can honestly say that every single recipe I have ever tried of his has been absolutely delicious. Emeril’s in New Orleans opened in 1990 and Emeril still owns several restaurants in New Orleans and a couple in Las Vegas.

Anyway, back to the oven “fried” chicken. I like it because you get the vibe of fried chicken without actually having to fry the chicken. Nothing wrong with frying chicken, but if you don’t do it often it can seem daunting. The beauty of using the oven is you can stick it in there, turn it over once and be done.

The hardest thing about this dish is the grinding of the pecans. That’s easy to do if you have a food processor or a high-powered blender. If you don’t have those machines, you can do it by hand of course. The nuts might not get as pulverized but that’s okay as long as you get them small enough to coat the chicken.

You can buy pre-made Creole seasoning of course, or if you don’t want that spicy flavor you can season this chicken with seasonings of your choice or just season with salt and pepper. Just make sure to use enough so that it really seasons the bird.

This dish is great served with the traditional fried chicken sides, such as mashed potatoes, green beans or biscuits and chocolate cake for dessert. But again, feel free to use your own imagination and serve it alongside whatever suits your fancy.

Pecan-Crusted “Fried” Chicken

Makes 4 servings

– 1 cup buttermilk

– 3 tablespoons Creole seasoning (see recipe below), divided

– 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

– 8 chicken pieces, your choice, skin-on

– 2-4 tablespoons olive oil

– 1 ½ cups pecan pieces

– 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

– ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine buttermilk with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a 1-gallon plastic storage bag. Add chicken pieces. Seal the bag then gently squeeze to coat the chicken pieces evenly with the buttermilk mixture. Put in fridge for 1-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread 2 tablespoons olive oil on a large, heavy baking sheet. Set aside.

Pulse the pecans in a food processor or blender or finely chop them into a meal by hand.

In a large bowl, combine ground pecans, flour, remaining 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Remove chicken from the buttermilk mixture one piece at a time, dredging and coating each piece in the flour mixture before placing skin side down on the oiled baking sheet.

Bake chicken for 30 minutes, then turn it over. If necessary (meaning if the pan is dry), add remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the baking sheet. Return to the oven and continue baking until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

This chicken is delicious served warm from oven or cooled to room temperature.

Creole Seasoning

– 2 tablespoons garlic powder

– 1 tablespoon black pepper

– 2 ½ tablespoons paprika

– 1 tablespoon onion powder

– 2 tablespoons salt

– 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

– 1 tablespoon dried oregano

– 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container.