Chicken Katsu with Homemade Katsu Sauce

You Will Need

1. 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet (or other skillet suitable for frying)
2. Rimmed Baking Sheet with oven safe wire rack
3. Meat Mallet
4. Microplane Zester
5. Instant Read Thermometer

For the Chicken Katsu

Ingredients

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. 3 Eggs
6. 2 teaspoons MSG (the FDA recognizes it as safe, it won’t make you sick, don’t believe the lies)
7. 3 tablespoons vodka (alcohol is a binding agent)
8. 3 tablespoons water
9. 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
10. 2 tablespoons Togarashi Seasoning (Japanese 7-spice)
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. I usually use mostly vegetable oil, but will mix in something on the order of ¼ cup of duck fat or ghee, for a little additional flavor.

Prep

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; mix until seasoning is well distributed.
4. In the second wide, shallow dish add Panko Bread Crumbs, Togarashi Seasoning, MSG, 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

Cook

1. Preheat oven to the lowest temperature it will go – usually somewhere between 170°F – 200°F.
2. Fill a 12 inch 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)
3. Heat oil to 375°F as measured with an Instant Read Thermometer.
4. 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
5. 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)
6. Cook until deeply golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally, around 5-6 minutes (approximately 3 minutes per side)
7. Once cutlets are beautiful, golden, stiff, and crunchy, transfer them to a Rimmed Baking with oven safe wire rack
8. Transfer cutlets to the warmed oven and allow to rest, 10-15 minutes

For the Katsu Sauce

Mix together the following in a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes, then transfer to a plastic squeeze bottle. Katsu Sauce will keep for a month in the fridge in an airtight container.

1. 1/3 cup Ketchup
2. 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3. 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
4. 1 Tablespoon White Wine vinegar or Rice Wine vinegar
5. 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
6. 1 teaspoon brown sugar
7. 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
8. ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
9. 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish or wasabi powder (optional, for a little zing)