Oven fried chicken

[bearzie]

I put some skinless chicken thighs in a buttermilk (Katie brand) marinade with herbs yesterday but I can't cook them until tomorrow. I wanted to coat them with panko crumbs and bake them. Do you think I should take them out of the marinade and put the crumbs on them tonight? Or would they come out better if they stayed in the marinade an extra day?

I just don't want them to turn to mush.

This is my first time trying a buttermilk marinade. Also would you season the crumbs? Does 350 degrees sound right?

Thanks.

[Cherylptw]

We used to brine our chicken in milk and buttermilk at a place I worked at. We did a batch per week or until all used up. The chicken didn't fall apart or anything. I'd just leave it in the buttermilk. And don't precrumb the chicken or it will be soggy...

[C. Hamster]

3 days in buttermilk is much too long.

This is from an article by food scientist Shirley Corriher:

"For true tenderizing, use buttermilk or yogurt
Dairy products are, in my opinion, the only marinades that truly tenderize. Hunters have long known to marinate tough game in milk, Indian recipes use yogurt marinades for lamb and tough goat meat, and some southern cooks soak chicken in buttermilk before frying. Buttermilk and yogurt are only mildly acidic, so they don't toughen the way strongly acidic marinades do. It's not quite clear how the tenderizing occurs, but it seems that calcium in dairy products activates enzymes in meat that break down proteins, a process similar to the way that aging tenderizes meat.

In deciding how long to marinate, consider the texture of the meat or fish. In general, open-textured flesh like fish fillets needs only a few minutes of soaking. I love making "fish fingers" by briefly immersing strips of fish fillets in buttermilk seasoned with cayenne, dusting them with seasoned flour, and then frying them. Food with a tighter texture, such as chicken or lamb, can tolerate several hours in a marinade, even one that's mildly acidic."

So I would take them out. Dont coat them in crumbs until right before you cook them. I oven fry with double dip -- flour/egg/crumb -- method. I usually season my egg and my crumbs.