I have a new favorite easy-kine recipe – R&R Chicken. The first R is for ranch dressing and the other stands for Ritz Crackers, both staples in many households.
Lenette Lum Tam of Aiea shared this juicy chicken recipe after learning it from Christine Woo of Waialua.
Start with your favorite cut of chicken. Tam likes bone-in, skin-on thighs or drumsticks. Marinate the chicken in ranch dressing for at least three hours, then in roll in crushed crackers and bake.
Tam recommends breaking the crackers into fairly big pieces, not crushing them finely.
The result is a very moist chicken surrounded by a flaky, slightly sweet Ritz Cracker breading.
The legendary fried chicken of the South calls for marinating the meat in tart buttermilk. Perhaps the ranch dressing serves the same purpose, adding flavor and tenderizing as well.
Have fun with the basic recipe by trying other Ritz flavors — roasted vegetable, whole wheat or bacon. Or just stick to the tried-and-true original.
R&R Chicken
- 1-1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken, about 3 large thighs or 5 drumsticks
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 13 Ritz Crackers, original texture and flavor, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (optional)
Marinate chicken in ranch dressing; cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Fill a bowl with crushed crackers; add pepper if using.
Shake excess dressing off chicken. Roll in crackers. Place on prepared baking pan skin side down and bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. For more browning, turn chicken and broil 2 to 3 minutes. Serves 2 to 3.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 650 calories, 51 g total fat, 12 g saturated fat, 195 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 2 g sugar, 33 g protein.
”Easy Kine” features simple dishes that start with commercially prepared ingredients. Lynette Lo Tom is excited to hear your tried-and-true suggestions. Contact her at 275-3004, email lynette@brightlightcookery.com or via instagram at brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
