Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets Recipe

Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets are delicious. They can be made into a Parmesan­ style casserole, with tomato sauce and cheese, made into a sandwich, or served simply with a wedge of lemon. But we’ve had our share of bad cutlets, ones so soggy and greasy that no amount of tomato sauce and cheese could rescue them. We wanted a quick, foolproof method for pre­paring cutlets with moist meat and a crisp, well­ browned crust.

This Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlet recipe will also work with thin-sliced turkey, veal, or pork cutlets. If the cutlets are of uneven thickness, pound the meat between two sheets of plastic wrap to an even thickness (see illustration on page 200). Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Choose your cutlets carefully. They should all be of the same thickness (¼ to ½ inch is ideal) so that they cook at the same rate. If they’re of vary­ing thicknesses, you can simply pound them to an even thickness ( see page 200). The next step is breading the cutlets. Breading is not a daunt­ing task. Once you get the procedure down, the

To make the breading procedure go faster, line all of your ingredients up assembly-line style and use tongs when coating with the egg.

Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets Recipe – Process

HEAT OVEN: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees.

PREP BREADING: Spread the flour in a shallow dish.  Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl.  Spread panic bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl.

SEASON AND BREAD CUTLETS: Pat cutlets with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge in flour, then dip into egg, and finally coat with Panko bread crumbs. Press on Panko to make sure it adheres.

COOK HALF OF CUTLETS: Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of cutlets and brown thoroughly on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes total.

COOK REMAINING CUTLETS: Drain cutlets briefly on paper towels, then transfer to paper towel-lined plate and keep warm in oven. Return skillet with oil to medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook remaining breaded chicken.

Crispy Breaded Chicken Cutlets Recipe – Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3 cups Panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs) or fresh bread crumbs
8 chicken cutlets (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
Salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup vegetable oll