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Chicken schnitzel has always been a favorite in my family. When my kids were younger, schnitzel was a giant chicken nugget, to be grabbed in hand and dunked in lots of ketchup. Back then I don't think any of us realized the wide global reach and popularity of schnitzel.
The world Loves Schnitzel
Not every country calls it "schnitzel," but they all use a similar recipe:boneless, skinless, beef, chicken, pork, turkey or veal is tenderized by pounding it into a thin cutlet. It's then breaded and baked, sautéed or deep fried. It's crisp on the outside and tender within - totally irresistible any way you serve it!
In Italy they it "Chicken Milanese." A big, thin crispy sheet of chicken schnitzel that practically covers the plate is topped with an arugula and cherry tomato salad with lemony dressing.
The Japanese version is "Katzu." After the chicken is fried to golden-brown perfection, it's sliced into strips and served with a big scoop of steamed rice and a green vegetable.
Chicken schnitzel in Israel has a good amount of sesame seeds in the breading and is sometimes offered as a filling forshawarma.
Wiener Schnitzel is the famed Viennese version, made from veal.
For the ultimate comfort food fix, serve your chicken schnitzel straight up with buttered noodles - just like in the famous song "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music."
"Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild Geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things!"
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN SCHNITZEL FROM SCRATCH
The first step of making good schnitzel is to pound the chicken until it's nice and thin. I don't have a mallet, but my rolling pin works really well. Putting the chicken into a large baggy for pounding, is a great way to keep chicken juices from spraying around your kitchen. Tip: don't zip the baggy or it might pop.
After the chicken cutlets are pounded to ⅓ - ¼ inch thickness, set up a dredging station with a plate of flour, a bowl of beaten eggs, and a plate of bread crumbs.
Coat each chicken cutlet lightly with flour.
Dunk into beaten eggs.
Then coat with crumbs. Your chicken schnitzel is now ready to cook.
You can bread all of your schnitzel ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for a few hours until you're ready to cook it.
Schnitzel is best served right after it's browned.
If you have leftovers, be sure to make a delicious "schnitzelwich" - schnitzel on a roll with lettuce and mayo or Russian dressing.
Cool mornings have started to mingle with the hot August afternoons here in New England. I can feel myself waffling between hanging on to the lazy days of summer and gearing up for a busy Fall. I've already started nagging my kids about getting ready for school. Soon our family will be in full swing of the new season - each of us diving head first into our various endeavors. Coming together around the family table for a good comforting dinner will feel better than ever!
Here's the chicken schnitzel recipe. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
★★★★★5 from 2 reviews
Author:Lisa
Total Time:1 hour 20 mins
Yield:6-8 1x
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Description
Thin scallops of chicken, breaded and sautéed until golden brown on the outside, tender inside. Serve with buttered noodles and salad.
Ingredients
Scale
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 ½ pounds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
2-3 cups panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
Optional Garnish
1 lemon, cut into eights
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Pound the Chicken Place a chicken breast half inside a large plastic ziplock bag. Lay it on a flat surface. Pound evenly with a meat mallet or rolling pin until you have an evenly thin scallop, ⅓ to ¼ inch thick. Transfer scallop to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
Bread the Chicken Cover a large baking tray with foil or wax paper. Pour the flour onto a large plate. Crack the eggs into a large wide bowl and whisk. Pour the breadcrumbs onto a large plate. Season the chicken with salt and several grinds of fresh flack pepper. Lay a piece of chicken onto the flour plate. Turn it over to coat. Shake off excess flour. Then dunk the chicken into the eggs to coat. Let the excess drip off. Then press the piece of chicken into the crumbs. Turn to coat the other side. Lay the breaded chicken on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Cook Chicken In a large cast iron or non-stick skillet, heat 4 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. (for speedier cooking, work with two skillets simultaneously). Add 1-2 pieces of breaded chicken to the skillet (or however many fit in a single layer.) Brown each piece for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil when needed. You need a good layer of oil over the bottom of your skillet to get a crisp crust.
Serve with noodles or topped with arugula salad. Sprinkle with lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan cheese, if you like. Enjoy!
The oil needs to be hot enough (it should be shimmering but not smoking) so that the chicken will cook well and crisp up. If the oil is not hot enough, the chicken will absorb too much oil and give you soggy, oily schnitzel. I use quality extra virgin olive oil, which has a high enough smoke point to fry the schnitzel.
Drizzle more olive oil over each piece. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and continue baking until no longer pink in the center and the breading is lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.
HEAT A NONSTICK FRYING PAN OVER MEDIUM HEAT WITH A LITTLE OIL PAN FRY THE SCHNITZEL FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES ON EACH SIDE – PREHEAT OVEN TO 200 AND BAKE THEM FOR 10 MINUTES OR SO TO CRIPS THE SCHNITZEL.
“Canola oil is the best all-around oil to use for frying chicken,” she says. “It has a high smoke point and will not impact the flavor of the chicken the way coconut, peanut or avocado oil will.”
It's great for all different methods of frying and all kinds of foods like breaded chicken and fries. Typically a blend of oils, it has a high smoke point of 400 to 450 degrees, and it has a pretty neutral flavor, which deepens the flavor of the food.
The white stuff coming out of chicken as it cooks is simply extra protein that dissolves in water and is forced out of the meat by heat. Food scientist Topher McNeil, PhD, explains, “The [chicken] muscles themselves actually contract and squeeze out the liquid that's in between muscle cells.”
Heat 1 cm of oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the oil is hot, add the schnitzels a couple at a time and cook until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm in the oven until serving.
Do not overcook the schnitzel. If you pound it thinly you will only need to cook it for 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other. If you don't pound it thinly then you will need to cook it for longer.
Be cautious not to touch or turn the chicken too much. The same goes for baking your cutlets—give them space, flip them once, then it's hands off. The breading is also more likely to come off if the cutlets are touching each other. These steps will guarantee that breading stays on your chicken!
Use a deep, straight-sided skillet or cast iron pan to fry, which will keep splatter to a minimum.Heat the oil until it shimmers or quivers in the skillet, and the schnitzel will only take a few minutes per side to reach golden crispy perfection.
Due to their thinness, these chicken breasts cook incredibly quickly. When pan-frying, the breading won't have enough time to achieve that desirable golden brown color before the chicken is fully cooked. This will result in undercooked breading or overcooked (tough) chicken.
What to Serve with Chicken Schnitzel. This tasty, crispy main dish is often served with a starchy side dish like French fries or mashed potatoes. For the most part, I prefer to serve it with a fresh salad to cut down on calories. Lemon slices are the traditional garnish for schnitzel.
Lightly coat each piece with all purpose flour. Dip each piece in the egg wash and then coat each piece with the herbed bread crumbs. Heat a pan to medium heat and sauté the chicken in olive oil for 2 – 3 minutes per side. Serve with a wedges of fresh lemon.
Heat oil (Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying) in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, in batches, for 4 to 5 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through.
We generally try to reach for monounsaturated fats when pan-frying. These healthy fats are liquid at room temperature (as compared to saturated fat like lard, butter and coconut oil that are solid at room temp). Our favorite healthy fats for pan-frying are avocado oil, canola oil and olive oil.
It's not easy to decide what oil to fry chicken cutlets in. The texture from the avocado oil was undeniably the best, but the health benefits and the taste of the cutlets cooked in olive oil outweigh the rest.
You want to use an oil that is labeled “virgin” or simply “olive oil”. You do not want to be using extra virgin olive oil here. You can also use any other neutral flavored oil you like. Just make sure it is one that can take high heat since you're essentially frying in it.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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