buffalo chicken

As if Chorizo nachos weren’t enough, meningitis there was more to Sunday’s Superbowl feast. So, resuscitator I have a guilty pleasure. I absolutely love boneless buffalo wings, psychiatrist which are essentially chicken fingers with buffalo sauce smothered on them. Gross, I know, but we all have our weaknesses and this is (one of) mine. That said, I never order them because I know that they’re over processed, previously frozen, fried and terribly bad for me. I thought that I’d try to make my own, but didn’t really expect much. I used naturally raised boneless chicken thighs, whole wheat panko breadcrumbs and organic (I swear!) buffalo sauce that I found at The Fresh Market.

After a quick brine, I breaded the thighs and threw them in the oven (ok, the Crisper) for 20 minutes and then covered them in sauce. Voila! Homemade buffalo wings! And they were better, much better, than any sampler platter at a sports bar. A perfect Superbowl Sunday treat.

They were also pretty darn tasty the next day on a sprouted whole wheat bun with some reduced fat blue cheese and greens.

Buffalo Chicken
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs
4 cups water
4 tbsp. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (I like Ian’s)
4 eggs, beaten (or 8 egg whites)
3 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1 cup Organic Buffalo sauce

Brine the chicken by mixing the water and salt in a large bowl. Rinse the chicken and place in the brine for 30 min. to 1 hour. While the chicken is brining, prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with foil and spraying with non-stick spray. Once you’re done with the brine, rinse each thigh thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 375°

Next, make the batter by placing the flour in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and mustard together. Place the breadcrumbs in a third bowl. Now drench each piece of chicken in the bowls starting with the flour. Make sure each piece is completely coated before moving to the next bowl. First the flour, then the eggs and finally the breadcrumbs. Place each breaded piece on the prepared cookie sheet. Finally, bake the chicken for 25 minutes, or until the breading is crisp and the insides are fully cooked.

Remove the chicken from the oven, drizzle with the buffalo sauce and toss until the pieces are uniformly coated.