Description
Hot honey chicken from Southern kitchens delivers crispy, golden perfection with sweet-spicy glaze. Perfectly balanced flavors and simple preparation invite home cooks to create restaurant-quality comfort cuisine.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts (1.5 lbs or 680 g)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3 large eggs (whisked)
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 5 cups cornflakes (crushed)
- ½ cup flour
- 3 tbsps light brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot)
- 3 tbsps butter
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp mustard powder
Instructions
- Pulverize cornflakes into irregular, fine fragments using a food processor, rolling pin, or manual crushing technique.
- Organize three separate shallow containers: one for flour mixture, another for egg mixture, and the last for breading mixture.
- Butterfly chicken breasts by cutting lengthwise, then tenderize to approximately half-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Optional: subdivide into smaller portions.
- Heat oven to 425°F, preparing a light-colored, lightly greased baking sheet.
- Pat chicken completely dry, then generously season both surfaces with salt and pepper.
- Thoroughly coat each chicken piece in flour mixture, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
- Submerge floured chicken into egg mixture, allowing excess liquid to drain completely.
- Meticulously press crushed cornflake mixture onto chicken, ensuring full and even adherence. Repeat egg and cornflake dipping if necessary for comprehensive coating.
- Position breaded chicken pieces onto prepared baking sheet, maintaining spacing between portions.
- Lightly mist chicken with nonstick cooking spray to enhance crispiness.
- Roast in preheated oven for 15-16 minutes until exterior turns golden and crisp.
- Simultaneously, construct hot honey sauce by combining ingredients in a small saucepan. Gradually heat, bringing to brief boil, then reduce to warming temperature.
- After baking, immediately drizzle chicken with prepared hot honey sauce. Consider reserving additional sauce for individualized dipping.
Notes
- Crush cornflakes thoroughly for maximum crunch, using a food processor or rolling pin to create varied, small pieces that will adhere better to chicken.
- Pat chicken completely dry before breading to ensure crispy exterior and prevent soggy coating, using paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Layer breading carefully by pressing cornflake crumbs firmly onto chicken, creating multiple coats for extra crispiness and ensuring complete coverage.
- Adjust hot honey sauce heat level by modifying pepper quantities, allowing customization for different spice tolerances without compromising overall flavor profile.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3
- Calories: 518 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 660 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 57 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 42 g
- Cholesterol: 195 mg