Plain Panko bread crumbs are my preferred coating.
chicken Maryland tastes better and is easier to make.
Of all the coatings I've ever tried, except perhaps fresh bread crumbs, matzoh meal is still, in my opinion, the best coating you can use.
1
I use melted butter to cook the chicken in. Pounded thin, the breasts take only a short time on each side to cook. It also works well without breading--just salt pepper and flour.
1
An inch of olive oil would mean a whole $8 bottle and thus too expensive except for special occasions. I use much less oil and carefully turn the slices over half way through cooking.
7
When flattening the chicken, you can also go to the extreme of getting it down to 1/4 inch thick before doing the breading. This makes for an even crispier cutlet that cooks in no time flat. Top it with melted butter and lemon juice. And capers.
4
Every recipe when it cooked crisp it goes yummy. I think this chicken is juicy & melt in the mouth.
2
I made this last night and served it with angel hair and zoodles ala picatta style. I never trusted myself to fry chicken, but this recipe gave me courage. I had organic boneless skinless breasts, used Wondra, an egg wash, and panko mixed with my scant remainder of Progresso bread crumbs, about an inch of olive oil. Success! My teen daughters loved it. One of the breasts was huge and I should have sliced it in half. It's the leftover. I'll check it today to see if it needs more cooking. Mahalo for inspiring me to make this. I had to Swiffer the floor when I was done for the sheen of grease. Worth it.
4
Please try it again with 100% homemade bread crumbs and I am sure you will never go back to store bought again (other than excellent panko breadcrumbs which are our favorite).
2
This does sound delicious, but the day has not yet dawned when I'm making my own breadcrumbs. #notmarthastewart Still, hoping to try this out with panko, to mimic the extra crunch of fresh-made crumbs.
6
I have not heard the word "Chablis" since before I was old enough to drink it. I associate it with the fabulous old wine commercials featuring Orson Welles, the ones that always seemed to run just before the spots for Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge. Is Chablis making a comeback? I'll have to give it a try (I imagine myself drinking a glass while soaking in a large, heart-shaped bathtub)!
5
Believe it or not, French Chablis is actually an excellent wine that has nothing to do with that crappy Orson Welles stuff that was advertised when we were kids.
2
Add a chipotle when making the bread crumbs. Gives a nice kick to the chicken.
1
A word about chickens: the antibiotic stuffed things you buy in supermarkets have a nasty taste (as does all their meats) and the poor animals suffered all days between birth and a terrible death. Please only buy real chickens for a few $$ more! Every meat recipe should start with this advise.
15
I just made this on Friday and I had it with a salad of everything. My own method may be off but I bread in panko and Parmesan cheese (after seasoning with Goya adobo low sodium and a squeeze of lemon) and fry the first side on medium with a cover on to assure the middle is cooked though (very slowly until golden brown, then I turn it over and turn the flame to medium/high to finish it off. I use regular sized breast that I cut down the middle and make two separate thin pieces.
I freeze the rest and use them for so many other meals. From salads, to chicken parm and sandwiches.
I freeze the rest and use them for so many other meals. From salads, to chicken parm and sandwiches.
8
Instead of bread crumbs for the coating, try crushed cracker crumbs. Crackers come in all sorts of flavors these days, so you can vary the recipe according to taste, whim, or whatever sides you are cooking. I still prefer cheese cracker crumbs, especially if I first coat the chicken in yogurt.
3
That's especially good advice for folks with celiac disease or other aversions to gluten -- good call!
2
An inch of oil seems like a lot, but I guess different strokes for different folks. I use butter with a bit of oil, and panko crumbs which work beautifully. And after I take the chicken out, all golden and crispy, I quickly add the juice of a lemon to the butter and crispy crumb bits in the pan for a quick, easy sauce.
2
Interesting recipe, and great comments. I can't fry anything - 9 times out of 10, the smoke alarm goes off & the entire family is furious with me. Any advice?
turn the heat down
8
I turn of the alarm.
4
Cover your smoke alarm with a plastic bag before you fry stuff.
4
A few things to add:
* A healthy sprinkling of kosher salt in with the breadcrumbs adds a lot of flavor
* If you have thick breasts, you can slice them halfway down the middle instead of pounding them. This is easier to do with frozen breasts when they are partially defrosted.
* I too use much less oil (1/4 to 1/2 inch tops) and usually use canola or safflower. I add more oil as needed for multiple batches. When the pan has too many burnt bits floating around I wipe it and start with a fresh batch of oil. Not sure if this is best practice, but it works.
* A healthy sprinkling of kosher salt in with the breadcrumbs adds a lot of flavor
* If you have thick breasts, you can slice them halfway down the middle instead of pounding them. This is easier to do with frozen breasts when they are partially defrosted.
* I too use much less oil (1/4 to 1/2 inch tops) and usually use canola or safflower. I add more oil as needed for multiple batches. When the pan has too many burnt bits floating around I wipe it and start with a fresh batch of oil. Not sure if this is best practice, but it works.
3
"Not sure if this is best practice, but it works."
Oil works better as it is used, so, no, don't switch it out.
Oil works better as it is used, so, no, don't switch it out.
2
i saute in a bare coating of oil, and then pop into a warm oven (300) or so and bake for 30 minutes while i prepare the rest of the meal, a salad, frozen creamed spinach, and some pasta or rice of frozen french bread.The chicken cooks all the way through which is good if the breasts are thick and stays nice and crunchy. A favorite of ours for years and great for kids. YOu can make them into your own version of chicken tenders which will cook even more quickly for little ones.
7
An inch of oil or 15 cans of Pam.
12
I rechecked olive oil safe temperatures and was surprised to find it can be safely heated to a higher temp., compared to the last article I read on the subject. Whatever, It sounds delicious. I have a one-pound chicken breast in my freezer and will try this recipe. Are there now giant chickens in a universe where all I could think about was Mick Jagger's 'Lil Red Rooster?
4
Olive oil, or extra-virgin olive oil? There's a difference.
1
I only buy extra virgin olive oil and use it both for cooking and for salads and vegetables...my olive oil comes from Liguria...It is more expensive but I don't use the oil for deep fat frying french fries for example...
2
I've been following this method most of my life, but in the past few years the chicken comes out rubbery and has a bland, unpleasant taste. This never used to happen. I'm not aware of having changed the oil temp or the breading or anything. How do you prevent it being rubbery?
Have you considered the chicken you buy?
9
It's probably the chicken... I had noticed that too, almost to the point that thinking of chicken made my stomach turn. So now I buy the Bell & Evans at Whole Foods meat counter - the difference is dramatic. I don't usually "believe the hype" about more expensive products but this is worth it. I just follow the sales religiously and stock up - their chicken tastes better than chicken...lol
13
Organic chicken breasts at Costco are pretty good.
2
One suggestion I would make is one the front end--instead of buying skinless, boneless breasts--buy bone-in, split chicken breasts--and bone them yourself as step one.
It's easy to do with a good boning knife--and proceeding from there, with the skin left on is going to yield truly crunchy--fried chicken crunchy results.
It's easy to do with a good boning knife--and proceeding from there, with the skin left on is going to yield truly crunchy--fried chicken crunchy results.
1
A good method, to the detail, but with which I take one exception, as at least one other commenter did. As fond as I am of olive oil, when I fry chicken I instead use safflower oil. The flavor of that oil at room temperature isn't nearly as tasty as olive oil, but it tolerates heat much, much better. Canola does as well, even better than safflower, but I prefer the flavor of safflower.
As others have said, marinating in buttermilk overnight is a very good treatment, and given time I'll first brine the chicken overnight, then marinate it overnight in buttermilk before breading it, or using flour and cornmeal, and frying it in perfectly hot oil.
As others have said, marinating in buttermilk overnight is a very good treatment, and given time I'll first brine the chicken overnight, then marinate it overnight in buttermilk before breading it, or using flour and cornmeal, and frying it in perfectly hot oil.
7
Marinate chicken in buttermilk, a dash of sour cream, spices of your choice and just a little salt overnight, Shake off most of the buttermilk mixture and dredge it in White Lily self rising flour. Let it set for a minute or ten then fry. In addition to tasting amazing its a lot easier than a multi-step breading. You can get White Lily on Amazon. It is worth the hassle just for chicken and of course makes excellent biscuits.
8
King Arthur makes an excellent self raising flour, too.
6
Follow David's method to prep the dish. Slice, pound, soak, season, dredge, dip, coat, and refrigerate. Stop when you get to the boiling in oil part. Oven-fry instead. Coat your cast iron skillet with a thin layer of avocado or peanut oil and heat it for 25 minutes or so in a 425 F. oven. Place cutlets in the hot skillet and return to the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, turning after 4 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.
20
Home made bread crumbs are the best indeed! Our routine is to keep ends of stale loaves out until they're rock-hard, then store them in an airtight container. When we get a critical mass, we food-process them into crumbs that get stored in a different airtight container. We seem to use the crumbs at about the same rate that we generate them. My depression-era grandmother would be proud.
10
Rather than breading, buy chicken with skin and just bake in an oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. Crispy skin is the best and it's more healthful. If you want juicier chicken, eat chicken thighs instead of breast.
13
use paprika for a rosy coating. delicious and very healthful!
3
Would be helpful if there was some guidance as to a test for when your oil was "hot, but not too hot". Bread cube appears to simmer but not immediately cook?
7
It's in the recipe itself. 365
1
"Put an inch of olive oil in a cast iron skillet and get it hot, but not too hot." Perhaps an actual oil temperature might make this just a little more clear? Plus, olive oil for frying? Better to use an oil with an higher smoke point than olive for any frying. Olive oil is not the end all-be all for cooking. Always use and oil suited to the application.
16
There is actually data out there as to proper oil temperature for frying, and by proper I mean where the fat stays out of the coating (or worse, the flesh of the product) or the product simply burns before the interior has a chance to get done. Generally, that temperature is at minimum 350 F. (I used to routinely set commercial fryers to 365 F.) Agreed, you do not necessarily need to fry anything to death, and even chicken will continue to cook on the plate. As well, if pounded (you can even do this to some extent to bone-in products, e.g., pork chops), that cuts the frying time down as well.
Rest is best. After all, right out of the pan is too hot to eat anyway.
Rest is best. After all, right out of the pan is too hot to eat anyway.
4
Not a cook, but an inch of oil still seems like an awful lot of oil. I guess relative to deep fry, that could be shallow fry. For a family meal, I could see doing this, but for a single serving, we buy a frozen, uncooked, no junk, breaded chicken pattie. All we need to do is pan fry in maybe 1/8 inch of oil/fat du jour, covered on a low heat, and it takes 8-10 minutes. No mess, no prep time, and 2 less grumpy teenagers. Lately, has served as a breakfast, lunch and snack option. Somewhat monolithic, but very popular and extremely convenient. Cost is $1 - $1.50 per pattie. Others already addressed the issues with olive oil.
4
Deep fry. Pan fry. Saute'. Generally more oil to less oil. But whatever works for you works. I'm with you, though; you can fry many things well enough in a 1/4-inch of oil. Mushrooms in a cornmeal coating comes to mind; nice crispy crusts that made for tasty mushroom po-boys.
BTW, you might be interested in steam-sauteeing. Either a touch of oil in the pan or none at all, high heat, and once the product begins to sizzle a bit, you splash in some water and cover the pan. Best to shake/move the pan frequently (if not continuously), and await. It's really just steaming, but for thin, fatty pieces of meat (pounded out chicken, beef, super-thin chops, etc.) or various veggies (broccoli is commonly cooked like this; onions, cabbage, mushrooms). My apologies if you are aware of cooking like this, but I have found that many are not, or at least are not aware that when frying in shallow/little oil, it is okay if not a good thing to cover the pan; you should not do that in deep frying.
Better yet, invest in a wok and find out just how one can cook, well, most everything in a splash of oil. Gotta be able to crank up the heat though.
BTW, you might be interested in steam-sauteeing. Either a touch of oil in the pan or none at all, high heat, and once the product begins to sizzle a bit, you splash in some water and cover the pan. Best to shake/move the pan frequently (if not continuously), and await. It's really just steaming, but for thin, fatty pieces of meat (pounded out chicken, beef, super-thin chops, etc.) or various veggies (broccoli is commonly cooked like this; onions, cabbage, mushrooms). My apologies if you are aware of cooking like this, but I have found that many are not, or at least are not aware that when frying in shallow/little oil, it is okay if not a good thing to cover the pan; you should not do that in deep frying.
Better yet, invest in a wok and find out just how one can cook, well, most everything in a splash of oil. Gotta be able to crank up the heat though.
3
@drp: have you looked at the ingredient list on those frozen breaded chicken patties? If there are ingredients with complicated chemical names, run do not walk to the nearest exit...in addition. if the cost is low, then the quality is probably low too...come on, it is so easy to crack an egg, season some flour with whatever you want, use breadcrumbs if you want, dip into a much lower level than one inch of olive oil..saute until golden, flip only once...
three to four minutes per side will give some nice rare chicken breasts that will be a pretty pink in the middle. I wonder if people really try these recipes before the send them in. One recently called for cooking a peice of short rib or brisket, I forget which, for 30 minutes.
3
The pictures show them to be pounded to about 1/4 or slightly more. I have cooked literally thousands of similarly sized chicken breasts in flat bottomed sauté pans at mid-high heat in less that 5 minutes total (per breast). One pounds meat to help break tissue down (tenderize) as well as assist in even cooking, but it also assists in faster cooking. Like others have noted, though, I am not sure why it is necessary to use so much (depth) oil. As well, the meat should rest once cooked, so it will continue to cook.
Now those massive, hormone-infused "chicken" breasts that took over US stores a good 15 years or so ago (14 oz breasts?), well, yeah, those would require a bit more cooking time, even if pounded out (would likely cover the plate!). But who is going to sit down and eat that much chicken anyway? Ha!
(Buy local! Buy real chickens!)
Now those massive, hormone-infused "chicken" breasts that took over US stores a good 15 years or so ago (14 oz breasts?), well, yeah, those would require a bit more cooking time, even if pounded out (would likely cover the plate!). But who is going to sit down and eat that much chicken anyway? Ha!
(Buy local! Buy real chickens!)
18
Peanut oil is the best for frying and do not use the egg yokes - just the whites to deliver crispier breading. Save the yokes for a rich desert!
18
Correct! One might also marinade the fillets in organic soya sauce with fresh ginger slices for a good 15 minutes before breading. Cook your chicken with love and care however do not overcook.
2
Better to fry in a neutral oil, olive oil is not great for high heat (even medium high). Reserve the olive oil for off head use as in the relish. But if you do use olive oil to fry do not use Extra Virgin as the smoke point is a mere 320 F.
25
Agreed. For searing and frying, I've converted to avocado oil, which has a very high smoke point, and a surprisingly neutral flavor.
9
What a helpful tip. I did not know this. Thank you
2
Took a cooking class at the CIA in Napa many years ago. Our Chef instructor demonstrated that you can deep fry with olive oil up to 360 or so, and I have been doing so for years. You just have to use a thermometer and not let the temp get away from you. In my opinion, using anything except cheap EVO for frying is a waste of money. Save the good EVO for salads and a finishing drizzle
1