This is the kind of homemade fried chicken recipe you can feel good about feeding your family: easy, tasty, and best of all, not greasy. Flour is seasoned with paprika and poultry seasoning, along with a little curry powder and salt and pepper. Buy chicken legs that have good skin on them and make sure that the chicken skin looks clean, not ripped, not discolored and basically appear like it would hold the homemade shake and bake perfectly.

Really coat on that shake and bake coating. The smashed crumbs in the recipe are really going to be what makes your chicken so crispy. Make sure that when you bake them on a rimmed baking sheet that you space the chicken legs apart enough that they have room for the hot air to circulate between them.

You can even let the chicken legs sit overnight to deepen the seasoning into the meat. Place the seasoned chicken legs on oil-sprayed baking sheet a few inches apart from each other. Bake 30-40 minutes until internal temperature reaches 425° with a meat thermometer. If you like crispy chicken legs, at the end of the baking cycle, turn on your broiler and allow them to crisp.

This can take anywhere from two minutes to five minutes, depending on your crispy preference, so keep a close eye on the legs to prevent burning. Baking instead of frying is the goal and when you bake the chicken the skin renders the fat and gets crispy. The chicken is coated with the seasoned flour and then baked to crispy perfection in a hot oven.

While the coating will help the chicken retain some crispiness, you can spray the drumsticks with butter-based cooking spray to help them get nice and golden and crispy.

Ingredients;

  • 3 cup cornflake cereal, crushed
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
  • 8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 lb.), skinned

Instructions;

  1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; seal and shake well to combine.
  2. Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl. Dip 2 drumsticks in buttermilk, and place in the bag. Seal and shake well, coating drumsticks completely.
  3. Place drumsticks on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining drumsticks.
  4. Sprinkle remaining cornflake mixture evenly over drumsticks on the baking sheet. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
  5. Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes or until drumsticks are well browned and done. Serve immediately.