Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I wrote, but the summer has brought with it many BBQ's and nights of not cooking. However, I have made a thing or two and I wanted to share with you a great recipe for Chicken Cutlets.

So, chicken cutlets are basically the whole breast version of chicken fingers. They are great to eat as a main dish or on a sandwich. You can also cut them up and use them to top salads or just to snack on when you are hungry.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes, start to finish.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. Chicken (Thighs or Breasts)

2 Cups Bread Crumbs (unseasoned)

3 Large Eggs

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Dried Oregano

Dried Basil

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan/Romano Cheese (grated)

Oil (Vegetable or Olive)

First, choose whether you want chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Difference? Breasts are leaner, but have less flavor and dry out quicker. Thighs, full of flavor, stay moist longer when cooking, but are much fattier and require more trimming.

So, whichever you choose, take out the chicken and trim off as much of the fat as possible. Take a meat pounder and flatten the chicken until each piece is about 1/8" - 1/4" thick. Make sure to pound out the meat concentrically from the center out so you have a nice even meat and don't end up with lopsided chicken - that will lead to uneven cooking.

**Trick** Place a Ziploc bag over the chicken before pounding it to help keep the spattering to a minimum. You can also put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and pound each piece individually. This will minimize small pieces of chicken being sprayed all over your kitchen counters and walls.

After you pound the meat, set it aside.

To bread the chicken, you need 2 wide, shallow bowls (or small baking trays if you have them). Pour about 2 cups of bread crumbs into one pan and break 3 eggs into the other pan. Beat the eggs and add a splash of water. Continue to beat eggs until fully whipped.

Add a tablespoon of Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dried Oregano and Dried Basil to the bread crumb mixture. Also add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and approximately 20 turns of pepper as well a small handful of Parmesan/Romano cheese (whichever you have is fine). Mix all the ingredients up in the bread crumbs.

Take chicken (one piece at a time), dip it in the egg bath so it is completely coated on both sides, then place egged chicken in the bread crumbs. Flip chicken to fully coat, then place coated chicken on plate. Repeat until all pieces are breaded. You can dispose of any left over bread crumbs and egg once your chicken is breaded.

Fill large skillet with enough oil (vegetable or olive) to be 1/2" deep in pan. Heat skillet on high heat until oil begins to shimmer.

Carefully place chicken breasts in pan (fit as many as can comfortably fit) and allow to cook (approximately 3-5 minutes per side) until lightly golden brown. Flip and allow to cook for another 3-5 minutes. Once second side is a light golden brown, flip again and continue until chicken is a moderate brown and crispy. Flip one more time to complete cooking. Chicken should not be burnt, but instead a color somewhere between golden and dark brown (like KFC chicken brown for lack of a better term). Chicken internal temperature should reach 165 degrees (check with thermometer).

This recipe is easy and goes great with Mashed Potatoes, Mac & Cheese, Green Beans, over salad, as a sandwich or just cut up as a snack. It is high in protein and very filling.

Always make sure to keep an eye on your chicken. If the oil in the pan starts to bubble very erratically or "spit oil", turn the heat down to medium and allow the pan to slowly cool off. Check your chicken as it cooks to ensure you do not over cook it. Every stove is different, so high on one stove may not be high on another and vice versa.

Enjoy this fun and quick recipe and as always...

Yours in cooking,

Chris