Baked Chicken

This is one of my favorite chicken dishes. There are many versions on internet with slight variations. Mine is gluten free and I also use almond milk, but you can use regular flour and milk. Brining chicken makes it so moist. Do not brine too long though, it can be too salty.

Ingredients:
4 pieces of chicken thighs (you can use breasts or legs as well)
2 tablespoons of salt
2 cups of cold water
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1 cup of chicken stock

For breadcrumb mix:
1/2 cup of gluten free breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon of celery salt
a pinch of turmeric powder
freshly ground black pepper

For gravy:
1 tablespoon of arrowroot flour
1/2cup of almond milk


First make the brine, combining salt and water. Add chicken pieces and leave for about 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 375F (~ 190C).

Chicken in brine.

While chicken is in brine, make the bread crumb mix. Add bread crumbs, thyme, celery salt, turmeric and black pepper. Mix well and set aside.

After 30 minutes, remove chicken pieces from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Place chicken in a baking dish and coat with melted butter. Sprinkle bread crumb mix on top of each piece and make sure to keep the skin side up. Dot with butter. Pour chicken stock around the chicken pieces. Do not cover pieces entirely, as leaving skin above the stock level makes the skin crispy and golden.

Chicken sprinkled with bread crumb mix and dotted with butter.

Place the dish in the oven and cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 170F or until juices run clear when pierced. I normally bake 30-40 minutes depending on the size and the cut of chicken. Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm.

To make the gravy, pour juice from the baking dish in to pot and heat. Add arrowroot flour to 1/2 cup of almond mix and stir well until there are no lumps. Add this to the pot and cook on low heat until the gravy is thick. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Baked chicken with gravy. I garnished it with chopped scallions.

Serve baked chicken and gravy with a salad.