Crunchy Chicken Cutlets with Saffron Risotto

You Will Need

1. 5 quart stainless steel sauté pan with lid
2. A 12″ Cast Iron Skillet (or other skillet suitable for frying)
3. Rimmed Baking Sheet with oven safe wire rack
4. Meat Mallet
5. Microplane Zester
6. Instant Read Thermometer

Ingredients

For the Chicken Cotolette

1. 2 or 3 Chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise to make two, thinner cutlets – so, you’ll end up with 4 – 6 cutlets total
2. ½ cup flour
3. Kosher Salt
4. Black Pepper
5. Pinch Paprika
6. 3 Eggs
7. 3 tablespoons vodka (alcohol is a binding agent)
8. 3 tablespoons water
9. 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
10. ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
11. Zest of 1 lemon
12. 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
13. Chopped Parsley, Lemon Slices, and Additional Parmesan Cheese – for garnish and serving

For the Saffron Risotto

1. 12oz Arborio Rice (about 1½ cups) but I prefer to do this by weight
2. 32oz chicken or vegetable broth (not stock, about 4 cups)
3. 8oz dry white wine (1 cup)
4. 3oz freshly grated parmesan
5. 8 tablespoons butter, divided (1 stick butter, divided in half)
6. 1 medium shallot, minced
7. 1 or 2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
8. Pinch saffron
9. ½ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks (optional)

Prep

For the Chicken Cotolette

1. 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.
2. Set up your dredging station.  You’ll need two, wide shallow dishes and one medium sized bowl.
3. 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.
4. In the second wide, shallow dish add Panko Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese, and Lemon Zest.  Whisk together until well mixed.
5. Crack three eggs into the medium sized bowl; add vodka and water.  Whisk together until slightly foamy.
6. Set them up in this order:  Flour mixture, egg wash, bread crumb mixture
7. 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.
8. Transfer to a baking sheet.
9. Repeat this process with all the chicken cutlets. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, and up to 8 hours
10. Preheat oven to the lowest temperature it will go, probably like 170°F but 200°F is fine. Use the convection setting if you have it. While the oven is heating up, prep the risotto

For the Saffron Risotto

1. Combine uncooked rice and cold broth in a pot or large bowl, and slosh around with your fingers to rinse as much starch as possible off the rice (trust me, I know this isn’t traditional, but it works extremely well, will yield a very creamy end result, and saves a ton of time and a lot of stirring)
2. Strain the rice/broth mixture through a mesh strainer to catch the rice in the strainer and separate it from the broth
   • To make it easier down the line, strain the broth into a 4 cup measuring cup if you have one.
   • If you don’t have a 4 cup measuring cup, just strain the broth into any container or bowl, and then use a 1 cup measuring cup to reserve 1 cup of the broth separately for the end of the process
   • You should now have (1) a strainer full of rice, and a (2) container full of broth, which now has all the rice-starch in it. This is exactly what you want.
3. Mince shallot
4. Grate garlic
5. Whip heavy cream (if using) and refrigerate
6. Measure out the rest of the ingredients

Cook

Step 1: Par-cook (i.e., “partially cook”) the Risotto

1. Add 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter to a 5 quart stainless steel sauté pan with lid or other wide but fairly deep pot over medium heat
2. When butter is foamy, add shallot and garlic. Reduce heat as needed to keep things from getting too dark too fast – you want to sweat them, not brown them. Sauté until soft and very fragrant, about 2 minutes
3. Add rice and sauté until nutty smelling and starting to become translucent around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes
4. Add wine and stir to combine
5. Add saffron, crumbling threads between your fingers, and stir to combine well
6. Continue to stir until wine is mostly evaporated (rice will appear mushy but individual grains will still be evident), about 2 to 3 minutes
7. Give your starchy broth a good stir to redistribute any starch that may have sunk to the bottom
8. Add 3 out of your 4 cups to the pan with the rice (i.e., all but one cup), reserving the remaining 1 cup. If you’re using a 4 cup measuring cup, this is easy – just leave 1 cup behind.
9. Stir well to combine, and bring to a simmer
10. Reduce heat to low, and cover; set a timer for 10 minutes
11. After 10 minutes, give everything a good stir. Shake the pan to redistribute the rice in an even-ish layer across the bottom of the pan (doesn’t have to be perfect).
12. Cover, and set another 10 minute timer.
13. After the second 10 minute timer (so, now it’s been about 20 minutes), remove from heat and set aside – keep covered while you make the Chicken Cotolette.

Step 2: Make the Chicken Cotolette

1. 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)
2. Heat oil to 375°F as measured with an Instant Read Thermometer.
3. 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
4. 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)
5. Cook until deeply golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally, around 5-6 minutes (approximately 3 minutes per side)
6. Once cutlets are beautiful, golden, stiff, and crunchy, transfer them to a Rimmed Baking with oven safe wire rack
7. Repeat with remaining cutlets, and transfer to 170°F oven to keep warm while you finish the risotto…

Step 3: Finish the Risotto

1. Return the Risotto to medium-low heat and stir well
2. Add final cup of starchy broth and continue to stir until nice and creamy, 2-3 minutes or so
3. Stir in any remaining butter, a few slices at a time – or brown the butter slightly in a separate pan for bonus points
4. Stir whipped heavy cream for even more creaminess (optional)
5. Stir in reserved 3oz of grated parmesan cheese
6. Off heat, continue to stir until cheese is well incorporated and risotto is rich and creamy

To Serve:

1. Place a nice pile of Risotto in the middle of a large dinner plate, and spread out in a circle
2. Top with a Chicken Cutlet
3. Garnish with lemon slices, chopped parsley, and more grated parmesan cheese
4. Be very proud of yourself that you made such a delicious, sophisticated dish, and enjoy with a glass of dry white wine