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Bittman's Extra-Crisp Chicken Cutlets were a hit with the kids!

The Amazing Cookbook by The New York Times Food Writer and Minimalist Mark Bittman

Extra-Crisp Chicken Cutlets!

During the Christmas Holiday from school, my girls asked me if I would throw a dinner party for them so they could invite their friends over to eat some great food and sit at the table with the fancy china and act like adults. Since my eldest daughter is going away to college next fall, this Christmas was a little bit melancholy for me, as they were all running around with their friends most of the time, so any excuse to get them to sit down in one place and enjoy a good meal and even visit WITH me was wonderful. We planned the menu around tacos because both girls love them and we were even going to make home made tortillas together.

That was before Daughter Number One came home to tell me that her best girl friend did not eat red meat. I told her it would be pastured, grass fed red meat and she said, no, it just wouldn’t do, and so we beat our heads against the wall trying to come up with something that would satisfy everyone. Finally chicken was decided upon, but I had the feeling that most of the kids who were going to be sitting at this holiday table were picky eaters, so I thought, simple is probably best.

As a child, I remember my mother used to make something she called Chicken Scallopini and we all loved it! I have since learned that my mother had a knack for calling things by the wrong name, and it wasn’t until years later that I actually HAD Chicken Scallopini and it was much different than the pan fried chicken cutlets she had misnamed. Either way, we loved those precursors to giant chicken nuggets and so, I went in search of a good recipe to make them as I had some wonderful pastured chicken breasts already cleaned and ready to go.

Into my Mark Bittman How to Cook Everything I dove and as usual, he aims to please! On page 678 I found his recipe for Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with seven different variation, but it was the Extra-Crisp version that I was looking for and I found it way down at the bottom of the page!

Extra-Crisp Chicken Cutlets

Page 678

Serves 4 (I doubled it for company)

1-1/2 Lbs. Chicken breast or thigh meat, skinned and either butterflied or pounded to a uniform thinness

1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Egg Beaten

1/4 Cup buttermilk or soured milk (this was my addition and it gave the chicken a real “Southern Fried Chicken” flare)

2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus more if needed)

2 Tbs. Butter (plus more if needed)

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Get everything ready, Mis en Place. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Pound between two sheets of waxed paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Put the bread crumbs, flour and egg/buttermilk (you can use regular milk or another egg if you prefer) in three separate bowls. Place paper towels on a baking sheet and heat oven to about 200 to keep cooked breast warmed as you finish the others.

Place the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes until hot. While the oil is heating, take one chicken breast and dredge it in flour, shaking off excess. Dip it quickly in the egg mixture to coat and shake off extra then plunge into the bread crumbs and press well with your fingers to help them adhere. Put the chicken breast right into the pan as soon as you have prepped it. Do not try and prep the chicken ahead of time and put them all into the pan at once or they will get soggy. Simply work on each piece of chicken as you can and place it into the pan until the pan is full but not crowded.

Cook the chicken, regulating the heat so there is a constant sizzle but no burning of the butter. After about two minutes rotate, but do not turn the chicken so the outer edges are in the center so the chicken will cook evenly. When the pieces are browned, after about 3 to 4 minutes (a bit longer for dark meat), turn them over.

Cook on the other side until the chicken breasts are firm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary to avoid burning the coating. As each breast is finished cooking, move onto the paper towel lined pan and place in the oven to keep warm. Continue adding fresh oil and butter to the frying pan and regulating the heat to cook the remaining chicken breasts as you prepare them. I had to cook 8 breasts and a few stray “nuggets” (that’s a recipe for another day!) and it took me about 20 minutes to cook them all.

I served the breasts with a spicy barbecue sauce for dipping, along with some ketchup and side dishes. Everyone really enjoyed them and I was so glad I went simple on this dinner. It would have been a shame to go to a lot of trouble only to have the kids pushing their food around their plates. We did have a lovely visit and I spoke about all the wild and wacky things I did as a teen. If you get the chance to throw a dinner party for your kids, I highly recommend it, as I also highly recommend Mark Bittman’s Extra-Crisp Chicken Cutlets which can be used as a base for quite a few other recipes which we will see in the near future!

Remember, I highly recommend How to Cook Everything By Mark Bittman for ease of use and variety. Even the most traditional cook will get some amazing ideas from it. You can view more information on all Mark Bittman’s terrific cook books at my Stuff I Like on Amazon store, or by clicking the Amazon Banner at the bottom of this page. You can also find great information and more recipes from Mark at his website Mark Bittman, and of course, the New York Times.

This recipe was shared on the Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop Volume 3, Sundays at One Food Club, Cookbook Sundays,   Full Plate Thursdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Fat Camp Friday, Tailgating Time and Penny Wise Platters Thursdays! Remember to visit on the first Thursday of every month to share your great Bittman recipes or see how others have Tackled Bittman! This recipe was also submitted to the Tackling Bittman Recipe Roundup hosted by Girlichef.  You can see my other Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop recipes by visiting my Featured Blog Hop Recipe Page.