Colm O'Gorman: Rise and shine with corn-crusted chicken — with hot sauce and corn ribs

Corn-crusted chicken with hot sauce and corn ribs

We never had cornflakes in our house when I was growing up. My mother hated processed foods; Weetabix was as far as she was prepared to go when it came to breakfast. 

Processed breakfast cereals she declared were nutritionally useless. “You might as well eat the box they come in”, she proclaimed, ignoring the claims of the manufacturers and our eager little faces as we gazed longingly at the colourful boxes on supermarket shelves.

I still do not eat cornflakes for breakfast, but I love to use them as an ingredient when making crunchy coated chicken in my air fryer.

This is a fabulous recipe. So good in fact, that I reckon Mam might forgive me if she was still with us.

Golden, crisp, crunchy, corn-crusted tender chicken thighs, seasoned with spices and served over creamy mashed potato with a sweet, spicy, tart hot sauce.

I have these with corn ribs on the side. The corn is also cooked in my air fryer and tossed in melted butter and Tajin — a delicious Mexican seasoning that is available online or from specialist spice stores. 

If you cannot get hold of any, you can make a home-made version by blitzing the zest of a lime, two teaspoons of chipotle pepper flakes and a teaspoon of flaky sea salt in a spice grinder. 

The homemade variety will be considerably spicier than the shop-bought version, so taste first, and adjust the amount you use to suit your own tastebuds.

Corn-crusted chicken with hot sauce and corn ribs

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Golden, crisp, crunchy, corn-crusted tender chicken thighs, seasoned with spices and served over creamy mashed potato with a sweet, spicy, tart hot sauce.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Crusted Chicken:

• 400g skinless, boneless chicken thighs

• 100g cornflakes

• ½ tsp onion powder

• ½ tsp garlic granules

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 75g plain flour

• 1 large egg

• Hot Sauce:

• 60ml Frank's Hot Sauce, or equivalent

• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

• 2 tbsp runny honey

• Corn Ribs:

• 4 ears of corn on the cob

• A few sprays of olive oil

• 20g butter

• 2 tsp tajin spice mix

• To Serve:

• Creamy mashed potatoes

• A few chopped spring onions

Method

1. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs and cut each portion in half widthways.

2. Pop the cornflakes into a large bowl and crush them until they resemble large breadcrumbs. I find the easiest way to do this is to use a flat-bottomed glass to break them up and to then crush them a little more by hand. Some recipes suggest you use a food processor, but results in very fine crumbs which do not give the same lovely crunchy texture you get from larger, more irregular sized flakes.

3. Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it lightly. Put the flour in a second bowl, and combine the crushed cornflakes, onion and garlic powder, and the smoked paprika, in a third. Line the three bowls up on your countertop, with a plate at the end.

4. Working one piece of chicken at a time, toss the chicken first in the flour, coating it well and shaking off any excess. Next, dip the chicken in the egg, again coating it thoroughly. Finally toss it in the cornflakes, gently pressing in the crushed cornflakes to ensure the chicken is evenly coated. Place the coated chicken on the plate as you go. When all the chicken has been coated, spray on both sides with a little olive oil.

5. Pop the chicken into the basket of your air fryer, arranging the pieces in a single layer, taking care not to crowd the basket. If you have a single basket fryer, you may need to air fry in batches. If you have a twin basket fryer, you can cook them at the same time spread across the two baskets.

6. Cook the crusted chicken at 180° Celsius for seven minutes, then turn them over and give them a light spray with more oil.

7. While the chicken is having its first air fry, prepare the corn. Wash, and then trim away both ends of each cob of corn.

8. Stand the corn upright on its widest end and place the blade of a heavy sharp knife across the middle of the cob. Hold the knife handle in one hand and place the flat of your other hand on the opposite end of the knife to put pressure on the blade. Use a rocking motion to cut down through the corn. This may seem a bit fiddly at first, but once you get the hang of it the knife will move through the corn quite easily. Do take care to keep your fingers clear of the knife blade as it moves though the corn. If you find the cobs are breaking up a little, do not worry. They will still cook perfectly and taste great.

9. Once you have cut the corn in half lengthways, lay each piece flat side own and cut though lengthways again. Use a similar rocking motion, but you will need to use some pressure this time. Repeat with the remaining cobs and toss them in a few sprays of olive oil.

10. By now your chicken will have completed its first air fry. If you are using a twin basket fryer, you can finish cooking all the chicken in a single basket and use the other to cook the corn. Air fry the corn ribs at 200° Celsius for 10-12 minutes, tossing them a few times to ensure they cook evenly all over.

11. Air fry the chicken at 180° Celsius for another seven minutes until it is crisp and golden and cooked through.

12. Combine all the ingredients for the hot sauce in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes until the sauce has thickened a little.

13. Melt the butter for the corn ribs, and when the corn is done, toss the ribs in a bowl along with the melted butter and one teaspoon of tajin. To serve, pop them into a warm bowl and sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of tajin over them.

14. Serve the chicken on warm plates over a few dollops of creamy mashed potato. Finish with some chopped spring onion and serve with the hot sauce in a jug on the side so that everyone can pour the sauce over the golden crunchy chicken and tuck right in.