This is the easiest and yummiest oven-fried chicken you will ever make. So perfect for picnics!
Retro Picnic Chicken
You can’t get more retro than this chicken recipe!
The original comes from Durkee. It came from an old advert of theirs that someone posted in a 1950s Facebook group I belong to. Since I love retro recipes because they are mostly comfort food, I had to try this. Plus I love chicken!
Some Slight Re-Dos
Tastes change over the years. Mine did. For instance, I don’t use as much salt as I did 40-odd years ago. It had nothing to do with my own health, but my late husband’s health. Since he had to be on a reduced-sodium diet due to heart problems, I just ate the same things he did to eliminate making two different meals. As a result, I lost a lot of my taste for salt.
Bear in mind that this recipe was from Durkee and their main objective is to sell their herbs and spices. However, I can’t see using celery salt in addition to garlic salt plus the salt on top of Ritz-like crackers. Whereas years ago I might have found a combo like this slightly on the salty side, now I’d gag and find the food inedible.
So what I did was use garlic powder instead of the garlic salt and used hint-of-salt Ritz crackers since I couldn’t find an unsalted variety. I guess you could crush some celery seed for a salt-free alternative, but with my substitutions the celery salt was fine (and cheaper).
Better Than Store-Bought Coatings
This chicken coating is far better than anything you can buy in the store and it’s probably less expensive too.
Play with the seasonings. This recipe can have many adaptations. If you’ve found a good one, let me know!
The Recipe
- 8 assorted chicken parts (I used thighs and drumsticks)
- ½ cup oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1½ cups unsalted (recommended) butter cracker crumbs (like Ritz)
- 4 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp celery salt
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place oil in a pie pan (or similar dish) and add the garlic powder; mix well.
- Add the remaining ingredients to a plastic bag and shake to mix.
- Roll the chicken in the oil coating well. Let excess oil drip off back into the pie plate.
- Shake 2 pieces at a time in the crumb mixture and place on a large baking sheet skin side up.
- Bake for 60 minutes.
PattiAnn says
May 31, 2018 at 2:41 amThese retro recipes are the best, with a few updates.
Thanks
Judith Hanneman says
May 31, 2018 at 12:05 pmDefinitely!!!