In spite of my desire to never eat breaded chicken cutlets again, this was the first meal I ever made for Andy (at twenty-two, my meal repertoire was about as varied as my dad's) and in the years since, the chicken has proven to be a real lifesaver in the slap-it-together weeknight meal department. Plus, if you have this in your repertoire, you can make "chicken pizza," chicken Milanese (just top with an arugula and tomato salad that has been tossed with oil and vinegar), and real chicken fingers.
Feel free to add any of the following to the bread crumbs: a pinch of cayenne, a teaspoon dry mustard, fresh thyme or oregano leaves, some ground flax, sesame seeds, or freshly grated Parmesan.
Recipe information
Total Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Add the oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat.
Step 2
Set up your dredging stations: one rimmed plate for the eggs, one plate for the flour, and one plate for the bread crumbs. Using a fork, coat your chicken pieces first in the flour (shaking off any excess), then in the egg, then in the crumbs, pressing the chicken into the crumbs to thoroughly coat.
Step 3
Fry each breast in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. (I usually do two at a time, but I've been known to cram all of them in at once and then spend the entire meal wishing I had just sucked it up and waited the 6 extra minutes.) The cutlets are cooked when chicken is firm to the touch but not rock hard.
Step 4
Remove and drain the chicken onto a paper-towel-lined dinner plate tented with foil if you have more pieces to fry. Add more oil to the pan and fry the remaining breasts.
Recipe notes
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