Copycat Mike’s Chicken Crunchers

Fried chicken holds a special place in my heart. Growing up, it was the meal that I chose to celebrate my birthday and my first Shabbat dinner after returning from sleep-away camp. It was also the pièce de résistance served at my engagement party. Yup, my mother fried chicken for one hundred guests to bring joy to the heart of this once blushing bride. So, when I sampled the chicken crunchers from Mike’s Chicken, a much beloved fried chicken take-out establishment in Lakewood NJ, I knew that I had to recreate their recipe at home—without frying.

Copycat Mike’s Chicken Crunchers

I am my mother’s daughter in many ways, but not when it comes to standing and frying a mountain of three-bite morsels of chicken. I began my quest with Leah Schapira’s Kosher Kopycat: Mike’s Chicken. After modifying the recipe through several trials, I’m happy to report that this recipe for no-fry chicken crunchers will delight even the most discerning fried-chicken aficionados. Marinated and battered chicken tenders, or small pieces of boneless chicken breasts, are coated in coarsely crushed cereal and baked briefly on a rack to recreate the beloved sweet and savory taste of Mike’s crispy, finger-lickin’ original recipe. But just to be sure, I plan on ordering a platter of Mike’s chicken next time I’m in Lakewood. Strictly for research purposes of course.

Assemble your ingredients. To create the sweet and savory flavor of the original Mike’s chicken crunchers, I coated the marinated and battered chicken in coarsely crushed Sugar Frosted Flakes. If you don’t like the idea of using a pre-sweetened cereal, by all means, use Corn Flakes or a mixture of the two cereals. If you are not using chicken tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 or 4 pieces to create portions of equal thickness and size (as best as you can). If the chicken pieces are too thick, pound them with a meat mallet until they are uniform in thickness (about 1/2-inch). You want the chicken to cook evenly.

Marinate the cut chicken breast pieces in a combination of orange juice and teriyaki sauce, in a bowl or a resealable plastic bag. No need to squeeze fresh orange juice. Bottled fresh orange juice is just fine for this recipe. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 1/2 hour and up to 2 hours.

While the chicken is marinating, add the frosted flakes to a resealable bag and roll over the sealed bag with a rolling pin to create coarsely crushed flakes of cereal. The cereal should be in recognizable pieces. Pour the crushed cereal onto a large plate and reserve.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. If you have a convection oven, be sure to use the convection setting for this recipe. Set the oven rack in the lower-middle position in the oven.  Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Rest a baking rack (repurposed cooling rack) inside the half-sheet pan. Spray the baking rack thoroughly with cooking spray. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, garlic, salt, and smoked paprika in a large bowl. Add the chicken and the marinade to the bowl and stir until the chicken pieces are coated in a thick batter. Remove the chicken from the bowl one piece at a time and dip into the crushed cereal. Press the cereal onto both sides of each chicken piece firmly. (It helps if you keep one hand dry for pressing the cereal flakes onto the chicken.) Lay the coated chicken on the rack resting in your baking sheet. Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 425 F. for 15 minutes. Enjoy immediately with the dipping sauce of your choice or, allow the chicken to cool completely before removing from the baking rack and storing. 

Print Recipe

Copycat Mike's Chicken Crunchers

Meat, Chicken and Fish

By Leah Schapira, In Between Carpools, adapted by me – Serves: 12

Prep Time: 20 minutes + 30 minutes marinating – Cooking Time: 15 minutes X 2 batches – Total Time: 50 minutes + marinating time

Marinated and battered chicken tenders, or small pieces of boneless chicken breasts, are coated in coarsely crushed cereal and baked briefly on a rack, to recreate the beloved sweet and savory taste of Mike’s crunchy, finger-lickin’ original recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken tenders or boneless chicken breasts
• ½ cup teriyaki sauce
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Frosted Flakes, crushed coarsely (I used a 425 g. or 15 oz. box)

Instructions

1

If you are not using chicken tenders, cut each boneless chicken breast into 3 or 4 pieces to create portions of equal thickness and size (as best as you can). If some of the chicken pieces are too thick, pound them with a meat mallet until they are uniform in thickness (about 1/2-inch).

2

Marinate the cut chicken breast pieces in a combination of orange juice and teriyaki sauce, in a bowl or a resealable plastic bag. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 1/2 hour and up to 2 hours.

3

While the chicken is marinating, add the frosted flakes to a resealable bag and roll over the sealed bag with a rolling pin to create coarsely crushed flakes of cereal. The cereal should be in recognizable pieces. Pour the crushed cereal onto a large plate and reserve.

4

Preheat the oven to 425 F. If you have a convection oven, be sure to use the convection setting for this recipe. Set the oven rack in the lower-middle position in the oven.  Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Rest a baking rack (repurposed cooling rack) inside the half-sheet pan. Spray the baking rack thoroughly with cooking spray.

5

Combine the flour, baking powder, garlic, salt, and smoked paprika in a large bowl. Add the chicken and the marinade to the bowl and stir until the chicken pieces are coated in a thick batter. Remove the chicken from the bowl one piece at a time and dip into the crushed cereal. Press the cereal onto both sides of each chicken piece firmly. (It helps if you keep one hand dry for pressing the cereal flakes onto the chicken.) Lay the coated chicken on the rack resting in your baking sheet.

6

Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 425 F. for 15 minutes. Enjoy immediately or allow the chicken to cool completely before removing from the baking rack, and covering and storing in the refrigerator.

Notes

This chicken freezes very well. Defrost completely before reheating gently at 250 F. on a baking rack for 15 minutes.