How to Bread Boneless Skinless Chicken in Saltines

You can substitute crushed saltines for bread crumbs to coat boneless, skinless chicken.

Saltine crackers give chicken a coarse-textured coating that seals in juices and flavor. Buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt all provide the viscosity needed to hold the crumbs in place. Using them as a marinade overnight, combined with citrus juice, adds a little extra flavor to what would otherwise be a very bland coating. The paprika and parsley provide color while adding almost 10 percent of a day's allowance of vitamin A per serving to the chicken.

Things You'll Need

• 2 tbsp. lemon, lime or orange juice
• 1 pint buttermilk, sour cream or active-culture plain yogurt
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Rectangular glass casserole dish
• 1/2 package or 2 oz. of saltine crackers
• 2 baking sheets
• Rolling pin
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• Pepper grinder with mixed peppercorns

Instructions

1. Mix 2 tbsp. of lemon, lime or orange juice into 1 pint of buttermilk, sour cream or active-culture plain yogurt.

2. Cut 2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1/2-lb. pieces and arrange them in a rectangular glass casserole dish, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Pour the juice-infused buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt over the chicken, turning each piece several times to ensure that all surfaces get coated.

3. Wash and dry your hands. Place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least two hours.

4. Lay 2 oz. of saltine crackers, or about 1/2 a package, on a baking sheet. Crush the crackers by squeezing them with your hands, or dump them into a resealable plastic bag, shake them flat and use a rolling pin to crush them.

5. Add 1 tbsp. paprika, 1 tbsp. dried parsley, 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. onion powder to the cracker crumb mixture. Add 20 twists of mixed peppercorn from the pepper grinder and stir the spices into the crumbs with your hands until evenly distributed.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take one piece of chicken at a time from the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt marinade and dredge it in cracker crumbs. Lay the coated chicken pieces on a second baking sheet, spaced 1/2-inch apart.

7. Sprinkle any leftover crumbs on top of each chicken piece.

8. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Test the internal temperature of each chicken piece with a meat thermometer, without touching the pan. Remove the chicken from the oven when it reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part of each piece, or continue baking for another five minutes before testing the chicken again.

Tips & Warnings

• Chicken marinated for up to 48 hours is still safe to use, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Freeze marinated chicken before you reach that time limit if you will not use it within two days.

• Wash all food preparation surfaces and utensils with a 3-percent bleach solution after working with raw chicken.

• Never reuse marinade that had raw chicken or any other meat in it unless you bring it to a rolling boil for at least five minutes first.

References

• Mayo Clinic; Honey-Crusted Chicken; Chef Richard Johnson
• HealthAliciousNess.com: Nutrition Facts Comparison Tool
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: Chicken From Farm to Table