honey bunches of oats chicken and macaroni n’ cheese

there’s no shortage of fried chicken joints where i live, but my favorite kind will always be homemade. since the first time we had “corn flakes chicken,” i’ve been searching for new and interesting ways to fry delicious things. after trials with several different cereals (cap’n crunch, no crunchberries, thank you, and frosted mini chex – too sweet), i’ve settled on honey bunches of oats. it’s got the perfect amount of crunch, a good sweetness, and it tastes great cold when you’re looking for something to gobble down at 2 am.

the assembly line: breading and frying chicken can be an extremely messy task, and my one piece of advice is to constantly clean your workstation and keep your hands clean and dry. the worst thing you can do is get globs of egg and flour in the cereal breading. trust me, taking your time here can make a world of difference once you’re ready to start frying.

the key to flouring your chicken is to keep the coating very light. pat off any excess flour so there’s a thin even coating. if the flour layer is too thick, dipping it into the egg will get you clumps of egg-flour glue that will drip right of the chicken, putting you back where you started. keeping both the flour and egg layers thin ensures you get a strong glue to help the coating stick close to the chicken and stay on during the frying process.

can you find the chicken in this picture? here’s the giant tub of cereal i used to bread the chicken. since the flakes are a little large,  i dumped a bunch in a tupperware container and crushed it with my bare hands. i suppose you could also quickly pulse it in the food processor or pour some into a ziploc bag and crush it with a rolling pin but i like getting my hands in there. see all those tiny crumbs of cereal goodness? make sure you use them – the goal is to get each piece of chicken completely covered, and those tiny crumbs can fill in the gaps between the giant bunches and oats.

here’s a quick reminder that i’m also making macaroni n’ cheese. did you forget? this will also have breading on it. i can’t wait.

and now back to the chicken, post-fry. there are few sights as beautiful. i almost don’t want to ruin it by, you know, eating it. alas, i must. for blog purposes, you see. to backtrack a bit, i fried up the chicken in vegetable oil, although you can use your fat of choice – if you’re a purist, maybe a tub of crisco is the way to go. for some reason though, crisco just weirds me out.

i mean, just look at this chicken. if you start seeing honey bunches of oats chicken on the menus of fancy restaurants soon, don’t freak out. embrace it.

honey bunches of oats chicken and macaroni n’ cheese
chicken recipe from mom, macaroni n’ cheese recipe from FoodNetwork.com. serves 4-6 people.

chicken
1 lb chicken (your choice of cut)
1/2 cup flour (all-purpose)
2 eggs beaten
several handfuls of honey bunches of oats cereal, roughly crushed
vegetable oil (or other fat) for frying

macaroni n’ cheese
kosher salt
vegetable oil
1 lb elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 quart milk
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, divided
1/2 cup flour (all-purpose)
12 oz gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 oz extra-sharp cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 lb fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (or panko bread crumbs)

1. get the macaroni and cheese started before you tackle the chicken: preheat the oven to 375F. drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. drain well.

2. meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. melt 6 Tbsp of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. while whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 Tbsp salt, pepper, and nutmeg. add the cooked macaroni and stir well. pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

3. slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

4. for the chicken: pour oil into a large frying pan ( about 1/3″ up the side of the pan) on medium-high heat and allow to heat for several minutes. set up your fried chicken assembly line. take a piece of chicken, lightly coat in flour, dip completely in egg and roll in crushed cereal. place directly into hot oil.

5. flip chicken when piece browns and crisps on the bottom and cook until completely golden. repeat with remaining chicken. do not crowd chicken in the pan – the more chicken you put in, the lower the temperature of the oil goes, the more greasy the finished chicken is. set cooked chicken on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb excess grease. cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until ready to eat.