Chicken is one of the most versatile meats. There are so many different cuts, from the wings to the breast, to even serving up the whole chicken! Most of the time people will buy frozen, ready-made cuts of chicken already coated in breadcrumbs, that they just have to pop in the oven. Also a lot of people don't know that it's 'chopped and shaped' chicken, which means it's the little bits left when the breast has been removed. You know, the bits nobody wants to eat?
But it doesn't have to be like that!
Here's a recipe that takes about half an hour to prepare and cook, and it's so simple.
Ingredients
4 6-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup/100g flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup/100g bread crumbs
1/4 cup/35g hard Asiago or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1.5 tablespoons dried oregano
1 cup/250ml vegetable oil, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit/200 Celsius/Gas Mark 6.
Create a "breading station" by combining flour, salt and pepper in one bowl, beaten eggs in another, and bread crumbs combined with grated cheese and oregano in a third. A glass pie dish or similar shaped container works great for the bread crumb mixture.
Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until they are a uniform 1/2 inch thick. Discard plastic wrap and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Make sure all excess moisture is removed
Starting with one breast, dredge it flour and shake off any excess. Dip in egg mixture to coat thoroughly. Lift and allow excess to drain before pressing the chicken into the bread crumb and cheese mixture to coat. Flip breast and repeat. Place each coated breast on a wire rack and let sit for 5-10 minutes to "set up."
Add 1/2 cup vegetable oil to a 12" skillet and set to medium-high heat. Working in batches, add 2 of the breaded chicken to the hot oil once it starts to shimmer. For best results, don't do all 4 at the same time to prevent overcrowding in the pan. The excess steam from overcrowding will interfere with the browning process
Cook on one side until golden brown and crisp, then turn over to repeat on opposite side. As soon as each breast is flipped, reduce heat to medium and cook on second side about 5-6 minutes to finish cooking through. Remove cutlets and place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking pan and gently remove excess oil with paper towels. Place cutlets in preheated oven to keep warm
Remove cooking oil from pan and wipe excess with a paper towel. Add remaining 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to pan and repeat process with remaining chicken cutlets. Serve warm, maybe with some potatoes, a side-salad and some coleslaw
