If you are looking for a quick and easy sticky chicken to go with rice and stir fry, look no further.
This recipe for lemon honey chicken is one I've made on a regular basis for over 7 years and it's still a family favorite.
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Usually I fry the breaded chicken pieces in bacon grease or coconut oil, depending on what's available, and serve with rice and veggies. I still make it that way all the time, but I wondered how this family favorite would taste baked instead!
I was inspired by a General Tso's Chicken recipe from CarlsBadCravings.com that bakes the breaded chicken instead.
In that recipe the author talks about two different ways to bake it... Flat on buttered foil or on a raised cooling rack.
I tried both and wanted to give you my review.
Flat on Buttered Foil
Laying the breaded chicken flat was the fastest "bake to fry" method. However, even though I buttered the foil I still ended up losing half the breading when I went to remove the baked chicken from the tray.
On the plus side, I was able to make the pieces smaller because they didn't need to rest on the cooling rack.
Cooling Rack
This method made a crispier, more fried like finished product, and didn't lose half the breading.
Now it may have just been my cooling rack, but I ended up having to make the pieces much bigger to make them fit on the rack without falling through. And as you can see in this picture, sometimes they still refused to stay put!
All in all though, the taste of this delicious dish is about the same regardless of the method used to "fry" the chicken.
Once you have the chicken "fried" how ever you choose, make the super simple sauce and mix it together in a large bowl.
Note: The sauce is really runny as it is made to be reheated later on. If you are going to eat it right away put the chicken and sauce back into a skillet and cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Make sure you stir frequently to avoid scorching.
Serve with rice and veggies or whatever you want and chow down!!
It's especially delicious with this super easy fried rice!
Lemon Honey Chicken
Ingredients
For Breaded Chicken
- 4 Chicken Breasts cubed
- 1 Cup Einkorn Flour
- 2 Eggs
- Salt and Pepper
For Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
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Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top; lightly grease cooking rack with butter. If you don't have a cooling rack, butter the foil itself and place chicken directly on foil.
For Chicken
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Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
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In a separate bowl, whisk eggs.
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Dredge chicken cubes through eggs then flour.
To "Bake Fry"
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Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
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Remove from oven and change temp to broil. Move the oven rack so that you can place the baking sheet 8-10 inches away from broiler and cook to desired crispiness (approximately 3-5 minutes).
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For extra crispiness, flip chicken over and continue broiling the other side until desired crispiness. Keep a keen eye on it though, you don't want to burn the chicken.
To Fry
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Heat oil of choice in pan or deep fryer to 375°F.
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Cook for 3-5 minutes until chicken is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 165°.
For Sauce
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Combine all sauce ingredients in medium sauce pan.
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Over medium heat, whisk until well combined.
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Do not boil, allow sauce to remain thin for easier reheating.
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Combine chicken and sauce in a large bowl. Allow to cool and store for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 6 months.
To Reheat
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Portion out desired amount and place in a skillet.
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Turn heat to medium and stirring frequently, heat for 5-7 minutes or until hot.
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Serve over rice with veggies of your choice.
Stephanie Cronk says
I found this recipe from your Frozen Roasted Whole Chicken recipe – I found it interesting that I could use my leftovers from the whole chicken to make this. Would you bread the cooked chicken? I’ve never breaded cooked chicken before! or do you use your leftovers and not bread it at all? Im making a whole chicken today and would love to make this tomorrow using leftovers!
Victoria says
Hi Stephanie!
Yes, you can just dredge the cooked chicken in egg, then flour as normal, then fry just until golden brown.
Frying works better when working with cooked chicken, since it’s faster. If you bake it the chicken tends to get too dry.
Hope that helps! Enjoy!