skin on chicken (any cut)
buttermilk Ranch dressing (any brand)
Panko bread crumbs (substitutions not recommended)
seasoning salt (any flavor)

This is a pretty easy recipe to put together that will result in a crisp chicken skin - from the oven. You can use any part of the chicken, bone in or bone out, just make sure that skin is still on there. There is some prep involved, but it's easy.

Pat the chicken dry and then season it with the seasoning salt. Make sure to get some of that salt underneath the skin. After seasoning, coat the chicken in buttermilk Ranch dressing and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. Next day, take the chicken out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter while preheating the oven to 375°F.

Shake excess dressing off the chicken and roll it in Panko bread crumbs until each piece is completely coated. Panko crumbs are essential for this. Other types of bread crumbs just won't crisp as well. Bake at twenty to thirty minutes per pound depending on whether the bone is still in there - bone in takes longer to cook through, but it's worth it. You won't have to turn this chicken during cooking, but you might want to baste it. If you prefer the breading to have a crumb texture, place the chicken on a rack and don't baste, but if you like it when the breading has more of a country fried texture, then place the chicken into the pan without the rack, and do baste it in its own juices about every thirty minutes. Panko crumbs perform beautifully in any oven "fry" technique and the skin is going to have a nice crackle either way.

When the juices are running clear and the breading is browned, take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest about five minutes. When you cut through that breading, it is going to release hot steam. Serve with whatever sides you prefer.

Submitted by: Elph