Nut crusted Chicken Maryland for Christmas Day lunch
This recipe is for one of my nieces, M. We shared Christmas Day lunch and M was keen to know how I cooked the Chicken Maryland. This recipe is dedicated to Miss M who is a wonderful human being.
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Unexpectedly, because of unusual family circumstances, I enjoyed Christmas Day lunch with some close family in Brisbane.
The tasking was clear. One brother cooked a 12-hour slowly roasted lamb shoulder, a butternut pumpkin, lamb jus, potato salad and roasted onions. My sister-in-law made a pavlova with mixed berries. My role was cooking chicken, buying prawns and preparing a salad.
I took easy options. I bought a few packets of coleslaw and garlic aioli for my salad. I was asked not to purchase my favourite kale coleslaw! Packet coleslaw is quick and it’s easy. I bought 1 kilogram of cooked unpeeled king prawns on Saturday and kept them cold in the refrigerator. After an hospital visit early Christmas Day morning all I had to do was peel the prawns and serve them with some purchased 1000 island sauce.
The only real effort was in cooking the chicken. I come from a family of dark meat lovers. We eschew the breast and crave the thigh. We want our meat to be tender, juicy and moist rather than dry and stringy.
Recipe
- Chicken Maryland pieces
- Olive oil
- Iodised salt
- Black pepper
- Mixed dried herbs
- Queensland nuts
- Peanuts
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Heat the oven to 140 °C.
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Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the tray into another baking tray which is slightly larger.
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Place the pieces of Chicken Maryland into the lined baking tray and pour some olive oil over each piece.
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Gently rub the oil all over the outer surface of each piece of chicken.
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Sprinkle a little of the dried mixed herbs onto each piece of chicken.
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Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Place some Queensland nuts and peanuts into a zip lock bag and then crush the nuts with whatever tool you have available.
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Sprinkle the crushed nuts onto the chicken and gently press them into the skin to ensure the nuts adhere to the surface of the chicken.
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Pour some water into the outer baking tray. I used enough so the water was about 1.5 cm deep.
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Place the trays and chicken pieces into the oven and cook for 1 hour.
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At 1 hour turn the oven off and keep the door closed.
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Go and visit the hospital for a few hours safe in the knowledge the chicken will continue to cook for a little while, the water in the outer tray will maintain a humid moist environment and keeping the oven door closed with ensure the chicken remains warm and doesn’t go cold.
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When you get home, prepare the Christmas Day lunch banquet and make sure everyone gets a piece of Chicken Maryland with a nut crusted skin.
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Enjoy your Christmas Day lunch with family and good food.
I default to 500 Calories for the energy calculation for all my recipes.
Photographs
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Questions and answers
Why dark meat?
It has more flavour and it’s more forgiving to cook. Breast meat can be tender and juicy but it requires a lot more attention to detail when cooking and life’s too short for that. Thigh meat will almost always be tender, juicy and moist.
Can this be applied to other poultry?
Yes. This advice is suitable for turkey and duck, although the fat content in a duck breast is higher and duck breast is more forgiving.
I thought breast was best?
Not when it comes to roasting a chook 😂
I have never heard of queensland nuts too! omg I googled-they are macadamias!!!
Thanks, Liz. Yes, Queensland nut species fall within the Genus Macadamia and are native to Queensland and northern New South Wales. As a proud and loud Queenslander, I always call them Queensland nuts. I remain disappointed that the early settlers didn’t exploit them before the plants were taken to Hawaii. I’m regularly explaining to people that Queensland nuts are not native to Hawaii.
Your Christmas dinner sounds immense! What are Queensland nuts by the way? I’ve never heard of them.
Hello Emma,
There are three species of Queensland nut native to southern Queensland and some parts of northern NSW. They belong in the genus Macadamia. They are commonly known as macadamia nuts after the Americans took seed and tree stock to Hawaii.
Christmas lunch was amazing, I hope yours was too.
All the best for 2018.
Looks like you had a delicious meal with your family. Wishing you all the best in the coming year, Gary.
Thank you very much, Karen.
I hope 2018 is a really great year for you and yours too.
Sounds like great dishes all round and one big delicious eat up 😀 I actually like breast best, and feel that that is the most challenging part of a chicken to cook – always a challenge to get it just right and juicy, with the juices flowing through.
Thanks Mabel, I’d be delighted to get breast cooking tips from you. If I can perfect the breast then I may try it more often.
I poke small holes in my chicken breast (like about half way down, not all the way through the other end of the meat), in hope the juices flow through and through during marinating and then cooking. It has made the breast easier if I don’t overcook the meat, which I do sometimes 😂 Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Thanks Mabel, I will have to try that. Do you have a favourite marinade recipe?
I haven’t played around with too many marinade recipes. But of late I’ve been combining soy sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, some kind of herb like basil/rosemary, and perhaps throwing in honey and lemon. I find that if I include paprika or the more paprika I put on my chicken, the more it tastes like KFC and the more juicy it gets 😀
Mmm… I’m sold on KFC tasting marinade 😃
I really do think comes down to the paprika, lol. The other day I accidentally added what looked like two tablespoons of it on a piece of chicken breast in a pan…it made such a difference to the taste 😃
I’m tempted to buy a bucket of popcorn chicken soon
Do it. Just $10 on special. Popcorn chicken will look amazing in a photoshoot 😃
It is very tempting 😃
I had to google Maryland Chicken. What a concept in a bird!
I always learn so much from your posts. 😁 Thank you!
Thank you very much Kris 😃😃😃
I’m intrigued about the kale slaw, it sounds delicious! I really like kale and am hoping to plant it next season.
A supermarket chain here, Coles, sells a ready made coleslaw with purple cabbage, carrot and red onion as well as shredded kale. It’s quite nice and the kale is great in it.
Sounds like a delicious feast Gary! Why did they ask you to not get the kale coleslaw?
I’m being regarded as a hipster for liking kale and quinoa 😂🤣
Your chicken looks very delicious, Gary 😀
I have made chicken in many ways, but I don’t remember to have used nuts in same time. I will definitely try this next time.
Thanks very much Irene. Please let me know how it goes.
I will do my best to remember to tell you, Gary.
Thank you very much Irene 😃😃😃