Mmmm Paleo: February 2013

Want to wow your friends on Superbowl Sunday with an awesomely Paleo guilty pleasure? This Pigskin Chicken is a TOUCHDOWN!!!

Ok, cheesy football analogies aside, this chicken is for sure the shiz. I wish I could take credit for the idea of using crushed fried pork skins for the "breading", but that bout of genius struck Paleo Mom on the Run instead of I. She and I took slightly different approaches, though, in terms of ingredients and method.

Fried pork skins, or pork rinds, or whatever you call them are not something I recommend you eat everyday. Even though the only ingredients should be fried pork skin, obviously they are greasy and high in fat (albeit gluten free and DELICIOUS). But, definitely enjoy in moderation. Mmmm... moderation.

Ingredients

1 package chicken tenders (about 10)
3oz fried pork skins
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper
coconut or extra virgin olive oil (for greasing the pan)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large roasting pan, or a sided baking sheet with a light coating of oil.
Open the top of the bag of pork skins to release the air and start crushing the skins to a sandy powder with your hands. Once it reaches the desired consistency, add the rosemary, paprika, and a bit of ground pepper to the bag. Why didn't I add salt? You'll get plenty of salt from those pork skins. Mix well.
Bread each piece of chicken individually by dropping it into the bag and shaking it up (kind of like 'Shake and Bake'). Once throroughly coated, use a fork to fish it out and lay it in the pan. (I left my chicken tenders whole, but if you wanted to serve a larger crowd as more of an appetizer or nibblin' you could snip them into bite-sized strips with some kitchen shears before breading.)
Bake for 20 minutes, then crank the oven up to broil and broil for another 5 minutes or so until nice and crispy.