Grampa’s Firehouse Chicken is a delicious, easy meal that is so good, it’s sure to make a regular appearance on your dinner table!
My father-in-law – Grampa to all of us in the family – worked as a firefighter in Brockton, Massachusetts for most of his career. During that time, each firefighter took turns cooking dinner for the rest of the guys working the shift at the firehouse. Grampa developed this recipe (named Firehouse Chicken by our family) one night, and it was an instant hit with the crew!
In fact, it became so popular that Grampa’s Firehouse Chicken recipe was shared among five other firehouses in the city of Brockton, and it became part of the regular menu rotation for years.
Grampa’s Firehouse Chicken is really just a simple variation of breaded baked chicken breast. Before breading the chicken, it’s dipped in a sauce made by mixing together mayonnaise and prepared horseradish. This extra coating keeps the chicken super moist during the baking process, but it also adds a delicious creamy layer with a gentle, flavorful warmth thanks to the horseradish beneath the breadcrumbs.
Although retired now, Grampa still makes his Firehouse Chicken recipe at home, and it has become a regular meal at our house too! (The whole family loves it!)
This recipe was originally published on A Family Feast on November 15, 2012.
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PrintGrampa’s Firehouse Chicken
Grampa’s Firehouse Chicken is a delicious, easy meal that is so good, it’s sure to make a regular appearance on your dinner table!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: entree
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 6 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 3 cups of seasoned bread crumbs or enough to coat chicken
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Trim any visible fat from the chicken breasts.
- Mix mayonnaise and horseradish until blended in a medium sized bowl.
- Spread breadcrumbs out on a plate.
- Dip chicken in mayonnaise mixture on both sides until well coated. Shake off any excess. Then lay chicken in breadcrumbs turning to coat on both sides.
- Place breasts in prepared pan. Spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray until crumbs are coated. (There is enough fat in the mayonnaise that you don’t need any more fat to coat the crumbs so cooking spray works really well to help the bread crumbs brown while baking.)
- Bake at 425 degrees until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of breast.
- Note: Use the “poke test” to test for doneness. If you poke the thickest part with your finger and it bounces back, it is done. Or, use a probe thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast and remove from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 155-160 degrees. It will cook a little longer out of the oven with a final temperature of 165 degrees.
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Just put Grampa’s firehouse chicken in the oven !!!
It is the quickest and tasty recipe for my husband and me for to have for our second meal of the day
Thanks Linda! We had it for dinner earlier this week! 🙂
Excellent taste! My husband who is not a great fan of chicken unless it is fried really enjoyed this. Thanks
You’re welcome Robbi!
We tried it. Not great….
Sorry you were disappointed Dave.
Made this chicken tonight. Used thighs because breasts are usually dry. Wow how delicious, they were so tender even though we used the temperature probe we didn’t think they were done. Only used 3 tsps of horseradish cause hubs pics up on different tastes, will up it next time. Great job gramps will make again with breasts.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Carolyn!