Chicken dredged in GF matzo ball mix, oven-fried in cast iron

[rosefox]

I had a craving for oven-fried chicken, so I looked up a recipe on Cook's Country and realized that all the seasonings it calls for mixing into the flour are in matzo ball mix. And I happened to have a box and a half of GF matzo ball mix left over from Passover. So I dumped that into a bowl to use as my flour and it worked really well! Since I didn't have to measure out all the seasonings, the chicken was very easy to make: dredge, cook, cool, serve. From looking up the recipe to putting dinner on the table took about an hour and 15 minutes.



The recipe as written makes for a very crunchy crust, thanks to the bits of dough formed by adding water to the matzo ball mix. If you prefer a more crispy and less crunchy coating, skip the water and double-dredge instead (egg, then matzo meal, then egg, then matzo meal). Or use GF all-purpose flour and the seasonings of your choice to make a finer coating.

You will need a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven that's at least 12" wide to accommodate this much chicken. I used a 12" Le Creuset Dutch oven and just barely managed to wedge in all 10 chicken thighs. If you have a smaller skillet or Dutch oven, reduce the recipe or cook the chicken in batches. Put the skillet in the cold oven and then start the oven heating so the iron really heats up—that's what mimics the stovetop frying. Be careful handling the hot vessel!

Ingredients

2 lb bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 10 thighs)
2 eggs
3 packs (1.5 boxes) Manischewitz GF matzo ball mix, or about 1.5 cups of flour with the seasonings of your choice
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup canola or peanut oil
Salt and pepper

( Instructions )