Panko Crusted Oven Fried Chicken

Five years ago, I posted a recipe,  Low Carb Oven Pan Fried Chicken and have made it a couple of times.  It's a good recipe, but it is labor intensive with the use and clean-up of a cast iron skillet.  I stand by the recipe, but on this occasion, I was less concerned about my carb intake and wanted something fairly easy to make, while rendering chicken with a crispy exterior and a moist, juicy interior.  After rooting around on the Internet, I settled on a variation of a recipe from the Food Network called "Deviled Chicken Thighs."

To be honest, I don't get the culinary term, "deviled."  What is it, beside the common ingredient of mustard, that makes a Deviled Egg deviled, and Deviled Chicken deviled?  I actually searched for an answer to that and found that use of any spicy ingredient is what might constitute evocation of satanic forces, until you come to Devil's Food Cake.  Then, the mustard denominator seems not to apply.  I thought it stupid, and so while I will give credit to the Food Channel for this recipe, I am giving it a more conventional name.  I did use chicken thighs as this recipe called for, but really, any cut of chicken would work.  Boneless chicken breasts would also work, but reduce the cooking time ten minutes if so selected.

As usual, I modified the original recipe to suit me and the ingredients I had on hand.  The original recipe also called for the skin of the chicken thighs to be removed.  I cannot, for the life of me, see why anyone would want to do that.

Ingredients
4 large chicken thighs
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 stick of butter
2/3 cup Dijon mustard (like, Grey Poupon)
1-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (like, the Kraft green can)
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp paprika
salt to taste
non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)

The Recipe
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Microwave the butter and garlic until the butter is melted and then add the mixture to the Dijon mustard in a bowl deep and wide enough to be able to accommodate coating the chicken.

Add the Panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper and paprika in another large mixing bowl, and whisk together to combine all ingredients.

Salt a chicken thigh, then dip into the Dijon and butter mixture to thoroughly coat it.  Then, roll the chicken in the Panko crumb mixture until well coated.

Place each piece of chicken, skin side up, on a sheet pan or cookie sheet that has been coated with the non-stick spray. Carefully spray the tops of each piece of chicken with the non-stick spray.

Place in the middle rack of a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.