How to Make the Perfect Chicken Cutlets
The boneless, skinless chicken breast. It’s healthy, it’s easy, it’s…getting boring. We have a recipe to address that.
Pound those chicken breasts thin, bread them, and fry them. In other words, turn them into chicken schnitzel, a German word indicating meat cutlets of any kind—pork, beef, turkey, veal—that have been cooked up quickly to create a golden crust. They cook quickly, and the crunchy texture that results is definitely not boring.
To get the chicken breasts to fry-able width, place them on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Then, using a meat mallet, pound each breast to ¼-inch thickness. If you’ve got bigger chicken breasts, trim them into cutlets by halving them horizontally. Place one breast on a cutting board, hold it flat with one hand, and (very carefully) slice it in half parallel to the cutting board while holding a knife in the other hand. Voilà! You’ve made two pieces of chicken out of one.
Our recipe for chicken schnitzel is below. An extra bonus: You can bread the chicken, place the cutlets between layers of waxed paper, and freeze them in reusable plastic bags. They’ll last up to three months, which means you can make dinners for the next couple months in a snap. Just thaw before cooking.
Chicken Schnitzel with Arugula Salad
by Angela Gaines
Serves 2
½ cup of buttermilk
2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
4 dashes hot sauce
2 4-oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼” thickness
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 cups baby arugula, washed and dried
¾ cups canola oil
In a glass baking dish, mix buttermilk, 1 tsp. salt, and hot sauce. Add chicken and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from buttermilk, gently shaking to get rid of any excess liquid.
Set wire rack on a sheet pan and set aside. Mix flour, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper in a large but shallow dish. Place egg in another large, shallow dish and beat with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. In third shallow dish, mix add Panko, lemon zest, and Parmesan.
Coat one chicken cutlet in flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer chicken to egg mixture and coat evenly, shaking off any excess. Then transfer to Panko mixture and coat evenly, pressing lightly to adhere. Place chicken on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining chicken cutlet.
Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add canola oil. Place chicken cutlets in oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and salt immediately.
Toss arugula with lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken and salad together with lemon wedges.
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