Chicken Parmesan

[brewmonkey]

How about some recipes for chicken parmesan? A timeless classic that when done properly is both simple to make and tasty.

I made some from scracth for dinner last night and forgot to get some pictures because it not only tasted good, it looked like it came out of a 3 star kitchen.

I started with a regular boneless skinless breast and using my roller (large dowel) pounded it out between sheets of parchment to a decent 1/2" thickness. I then used a batch of milk (about 1/2 cup) and 1 egg and let the chicken soak for about 5-10 minutes before coating them with my breadcrumbs.

Normally I prefer to make my own crumbs from a mix of white, wheat and whole grain bread using a touch of garlic, basil, marjoram, salt, pepper and oregano (all to taste). I coat the chicken with a medium coating of the crumbs and then drop them into the skillet with canola oil (about 1/4-1/2" deep refilling between pieces as needed) and fry them until they are golden/brown on each side. Allow them to drain on paper towels so they do not become soggy or too oily.

Once all the chicken is done I top them all with some sauce and a blend of cheese Parmesan, Asiago, Pecorino Romano and Mozzarella and place it under the broiler to melt and then serve it all over a bed of pasta (your choice).

Start to finish you can have this entire operation done in 30 minutes for a family of 4-6. Very easy to make and simple to clean up. You can make extra chicken but once you pull it from the pan, drain it and put it in the fridge. You can make a sandwich out of it the next day.

Watch your chicken. Beating it flat as paper is no good as is leaving it too thick. To thin and it will burn while to thick and it will burn on the outside while remaining raw in the middle.

Oil is important too. The temp needs to be just perfect so that when you drop your chicken in it starts cooking instantly. If the oil is too cold your chicken will soak up oil before cooking leaving you with soggy rancid meat.

You should also be aware of the pan size and oil content. You should not overload the pan with chicken or add to much at once as this will drop the temp of the oil too quickly. Your chicken will not cook and instead soak in the oil as above.

For the pasta you can use whatever kind you have on hand. I like to make it using spinach based pasta as it adds some depth to the meal. Of course you could also serve it with ravioli or tortellini on the side and have a kind of "tour of Italy" supper Using pre-made pastas you can still keep the entire preperation and cleaning to under 45 minutes.


You can also use boneless porkchops/loin and using the breading method make yourself pork loin sandwiches. Skip the cheese and sauce and instead use a large bun, some mayo/miracle whip and enjoy.

[Bill Harsey]

THis sounds like a great recipe, have to try it soon.