Panko Crusted Chicken Cutlets

Although this recipe is already contained in a number of other recipe posts on this blog, I thought it was worth sharing by itself because making these crispy, golden cutlets opens up a world of creativity in terms of what you do with your pan sauce. Once fried golden brown, you pop them in the oven to cook them through, and while they are finishing you can use the fond in the pan as a base to create any number of sauces. The chicken itself can then be served over rice, pasta, potatoes, bread – whatever you fancy – with your sauce drizzled on top.

Ingredients

2 or 3 Chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise to make two, thinner cutlets – so, you’ll end up with 4 – 6 cutlets total
½ cup flour
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Pinch Paprika
3 Eggs
3 tablespoons vodka (alcohol is a binding agent)
3 tablespoons milk, cream or water
1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
⅓ cup parmesan cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup or so vegetable oil, ghee or any other high smoke-point fat: enough to get about 1½ inches deep in a cast iron or other suitable pan for frying

Prep

Using a Meat Mallet, pound each chicken cutlet to even thickness (the wider end will need more pounding than the narrow end) – you’re shooting for ¼ to ⅓ inch thickness… so pretty thin. This is important to ensure that chicken is cooked through during the frying process.
Set up your dredging station. You’ll need two, wide shallow dishes and one medium sized bowl.
Put the flour in one of the wide, shallow dishes. Season aggressively with salt and pepper; add paprika and mix until seasoning is well distributed.
In the second wide, shallow dish add Panko Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese, and Lemon Zest. Whisk together until well mixed.
Crack three eggs into the medium sized bowl; add vodka and water. Whisk together until slightly foamy.
Set them up in this order: Flour mixture, egg wash, bread crumb mixture
Dredge a chicken cutlet first in the flour mixture (shaking of excess), then dip into the egg wash, and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing firmly to adhere to each side and flipping a few times as needed.
Transfer to a baking sheet.
Repeat this process with all the chicken cutlets. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, and up to 8 hours

Instructions

Fill a A 12″ Cast Iron Skillet about 1½ – 2 inches deep with a high smoke-point fat (I like to use vegetable oil and maybe ¼ cup of duck fat or ghee for a little extra flavor)
Heat oil to 375°F as measured with an Instant Read Thermometer.
Safety Notes:
- You’ve got super hot oil in a skillet that probably has a handle. Point that handle toward the rear of the stove, angled away from the edges of the stove where it could accidentally be knocked
- Keep kids/pets and things you can trip over out of the kitchen during this time
Carefully lay two or three of the breaded chicken cutlets into the hot oil. A few important notes here:
- Lay the cutlets away from you so if there’s any splashing it doesn’t go in your direction
- Lay cutlets in oil slowly – don’t be afraid of it; dropping things in quickly will lead to more spattering/splashing. If you’re nervous, use tongs.
- Do not overcrowd – you don’t want to drop the oil temperature too much
- Right when you lay the cutlets in the oil, they’ll sink to the bottom, so use tongs to gently wiggle each cutlet to ensure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan
- It’s okay if the cutlets aren’t fully submerged – you’re going to turn them over once in a while anyway (see next step)
Cook until deeply golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally, around 5-6 minutes (approximately 3 minutes per side)
Once cutlets are beautiful, golden, stiff, and crunchy, transfer them to a Rimmed Baking with oven safe wire rack
Repeat with remaining cutlets, and transfer to 170°F oven to keep warm