Crispy Garlic Chicken

Chicken breasts can be a little bland on their own and often require some kind of accompanying sauce or dry-rub spice recipe to add a richer flavor profile. While there are many combinations of herbs, spices and sauces that will create a tasty chicken recipe, the addition of these specific spices makes this Crispy Garlic Chicken dinner recipe so delicious, I could eat seconds (or leftovers, if there are any!). This is definitely a chicken recipe to add to the recipe book!

This chicken dinner recipe calls for bone-in, skin on chicken breasts (also known as split chicken breasts). The calorie count per breast, depending on weight, is around 351. If you are counting calories, you may want to consider removing the skin, although this will make your chicken breasts less crispy (and potentially less moist, since the skin provides fat and aids in moisturizing the breast). You could also substitute for a boneless, skinless chicken breast with similar results, although boneless, skinless chicken breasts tend to be far more expensive. Either way, you will want to trim any of the 'trim-able' fat, as well as remove and discard the rib area for more even cooking.

For this chicken dinner recipe, you will also need garlic powder, celery salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and dual action baking powder. The combination of these spices adds both taste and heat to the chicken recipe. You can add more, or less, of each spice, depending on your taste preferences, and if you don't like hot spices, you can leave out the cayenne pepper altogether and go for a more garlic-y taste.

One of the required ingredients in this chicken recipe is baking powder, which is a chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods. It works by releasing carbon dioxide gas through an acid-base reaction that causes bubbles that expand and is used instead of yeast where fermentation flavoring is undesirable or to speed the production time. There are two types of baking powders available: single vs. double acting. The acid in baking powder is either slow-acting or fast-acting. Fast-acting acid reacts in wet mixture at room temperature whereas slow-acting acid will not active until heated in an oven. Baking powders containing both are called double acting (or dual acting) and is the type most commonly available. While baking powders were sold in the early 19th century, modern baking soda was discovered in 1843 by Alfred Bird, a German pharmacist. The addition of dual action baking powder to this chicken recipe will help make the chicken skin extra crispy.

For the chicken dinner dry-rub recipe, you combine all of the spices, then sprinkle and rub them on all surfaces of the chicken, coating as evenly as possible for an even taste throughout. A secret to cooking uneven chicken breasts is to place them on a baking rack in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil. You will want to place the larger pieces in the corners of the pan, which the thinner edges of the chicken breasts should be placed towards the center of the pan. As with most chicken breasts, the cook time should only be around 35 minutes, depending on your oven and the thickness of your chicken. To test for readiness, poke the chicken breasts. If the liquid that runs out of your chicken breast is clear and contains no pink or red coloring, your chicken breasts are fully cooked and ready to serve. Bon appetit!