1Tablespoonfennel seedsground in a coffee or spice grinder
1cuppork rindscrushed
¼ Teaspoosalt
4Tablespoonsdijon mustard
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towels.
9-10 chicken legs
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken well on both sides (3-4 minutes per side). This is not high temp deep-frying, but rather sautéing in less oil.
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Transfer the chicken large sheet-pan (line it with parchment paper for easy clean up). Bake 15 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, mix together fennel, the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil, the pork rinds, 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper (chicharrones can be salty so go easy on the salt).
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 cup pork rinds, 1/4 Teaspoo salt
Remove the chicken from the oven and raise the oven temp to 500 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, use a pastry brush to brush one side of the chicken legs with mustard and then press the crumb mixture on top of the mustard. Turn the legs over and repeat on the other side.
4 Tablespoons dijon mustard
Bake until the crumb crust turns golden, about another 10 minutes.
Serve with a green vegetable, roasted tomatoes or cauliflower mash.
Notes
Two other similar breading mixtures that can be used with any fried or sautéed food is this low carb breading mixture recipe which adds in some grated parmesan cheese, or this crushed nut breading mixture. They are both exceptional mixtures for getting the crunch of breading on fish or chicken.