Cornmeal Oven-Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Author: Nicole
Ingredients
For Brine:
  • ½ cup kosher salt (preferably Diamond Crystal – see Notes)
  • ¼ white sugar
  • 3 cups water
  • 8 cloves of garlic, skins removed and smashed
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 6 cups cold water
  • 8 chicken thighs, with skin and bones
For Coating:
  • 1 cup buttermilk (see Notes)
  • 1 cup gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour (see Notes)
  • ½ cup medium ground cornmeal (see Notes)
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Brining the Chicken:
  1. In a small pot, combine salt, sugar and 3 cups of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the salt and sugar dissolve.
  2. Transfer salt-sugar water mixture to a large bowl or pot. Add garlic, coriander, bay leaves, peppercorns and remaining 6 cups of cold water. Stir until brine is cold.
  3. Add chicken, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
Cooking the Chicken:
  1. Remove chicken from brine and place on a larger platter or cookie sheet. Let stand for 30 minutes to remove some of the chill. Remove any spices that may have remained on the chicken.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (to ease in clean up). Spray with cooking oil.
  3. Place buttermilk in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, coriander, cayenne pepper, sea salt and black pepper.
  4. Dip each chicken thigh into buttermilk and then dredge in flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Transfer chicken pieces to prepared baking sheet, skin side down.
  5. Roast chicken pieces for about 25 to 30 minutes or until very browned. Flip over chicken pieces and roast for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Chicken is done when browned and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F. Transfer chicken to a wire rack to let cool for at least 10 minutes (the rack allows it to cool more evenly).
  6. Serve chicken hot, at room temperature or cold. Chicken can be made two days in advance.
Notes
* If you’re using Morton’s kosher salt, then use ⅓ cup. Not all kosher salts are created equal as one cup of Morton’s kosher salt has 8 ounces of salt whereas Diamond Crystal kosher salt only has 5 ounces per cup.
* I use my 7-1/4 quart round Le Creuset Dutch oven for brining the chicken - all the pieces are submerged and it has a lid for covering.
* While I like baking with a buttermilk powder mix (such as SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend), for this recipe I recommend using liquid buttermilk.
* If you want to make this truly gluten-free use gluten-free flour (such as Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour) in place of the all-purpose flour and gluten-free cornmeal (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Medium Cornmeal).
Recipe by Riegl Palate at https://www.rieglpalate.com/cornmeal-oven-fried-chicken-gluten-free/