Recipe below shows one of two different approaches for oven cooking breaded chicken. One recommends using 425º convection, others 350º direct heat, non-convection. Convection settings, fans circulate heat resulting with food cooking quicker and evenly. Its earliest sales pitch was being able to cook several trays of cookies evenly. My opinion, even at higher temperatures, for me there seems to be an interesting balance. I'm able to crisp breading quickly while thicker cutlets cook through.
Direct heat is prone to hot spots especially when my oven automatically adjusts to temperature settings. I like to use direct heat with a cooking tray or pan on a lower shelf when quick cooking thinner cutlets. I find it a handy way to crisp the bottom side of cutlets similar to pan cooking. I can flip them over, add toppings, and return to finish cooking. It especially works well if topped with cheese. The downside, food needs to be monitored closely to prevent bottom burning.
Note, I only use high direct heat to cook pizza and flatbreads. Unlike cookies, I want surfaces to brown. Nothing worse than soft spongy and limp pizza and flatbreads!
This variation of oven cooking breaded cutlets was born out of necessity. It came shortly after Nancy placed a temporary ban on stove top splattering. I offered her an analogy. "I approach food like a Roman gladiator attacks combatants....and we all know; gladiators didn't clean up!" What made me think she would even remotely see the humor in it?
Dry oven baking inherently tends to dry food. Traditional water base brining can dilute flavors. I use a mixture of a 14.5 oz. can of chicken broth with a 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and sugar. The resulting oven baked chicken stays moist and flavorful. The volume of brine was more than ample for three large breasts.
Baking chicken at higher convection temperatures helps brown the crumb coating on the bottom before the chicken is cooked through. Flipping the chicken over once browned is an opportunity to kick flavor up a notch by adding grated or shredded parmigiana cheese on top.
The dish can also be served with your favorite sauce. My preferred topping is mushrooms with tarragon, sherry and butter (recipe included).
Serves 6
Brining
Coating
Finish with
Optional mushroom topping