An Amish Version of Arizona Chicken

Yes, this recipe is called "Arizona Chicken". This is one of a gazillion chicken recipes found commonly in Amish kitchens. It is delicious. But how "Arizona" is it? My parents made it and loved it. They made it in their convection oven for supper. But the Arizona connections seem a little tenuous.

🏴󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁺󠁿 What is "Arizona Chicken?"

It's hard to pin down.

Some sources claim the Arizona Chicken recipe is named after the Arizona Chicken restaurant chain. The restaurant chain was founded in 1962 by Charles and Mary Lou Williams (no relation to me!) in Phoenix, Arizona. The original recipe for the Arizona Chicken was created by the Williams family and is still used in the restaurants today.

The Arizona Chicken recipe is a simple one, but it produces a delicious and crispy chicken dish. The chicken is first marinated in a mixture of buttermilk, eggs, and spices. It is then dredged in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, and spices. The chicken is then fried until it is golden brown and crispy.

Other sources say the chicken is simply of southwestern style.

The recipe from the Amish Cook column called Arizona Chicken is much more scaled back than the Arizona Chicken restaurant chain's and it lacks the southwestern spices to qualify for the state. So I think this is an example of a recipe that probably got passed around, changed, ,etc, but the name stayed the same.

📜 Step-By-Step Arizona Chicken

The first thing you do is melt butter and then dip the chicken in it, that'll help the dredging mixture stick to it!

The dredging mixture is flour, pepper, salt, and paprika. So you can see there's not much southwest about this, this recipe hews more to the restaurant version. Still, you can make plenty of tweaks yourself. Instead of just melted butter, you can mix in buttermilk too. And for the dry ingredients, you can put in some red pepper flakes or anything else you want to add some heat.

Roll or dredge the chicken pieces through the dry mixture.

A lot of "Arizona chicken" versions are fried, but this one is baked. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put the chicken pieces on it.

Bake for about 50 minutes at 425. It'll be nice and crispy and golden. The chicken pairs well with a veggie side dish or mashed potatoes.

🙋 FAQ Arizona Chicken