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Chicken Schnitzel
Chicken under a crisp breadcrumb crust. Keep it simple with whatever cut you've got, or give it a buttermilk brine and a ridiculously crunchy potato-flake supercrumb.
BASIC
Chicken, flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Use breast, thighs or tenders, get the thickness reasonably even and fry it until the crust is properly golden.
Method
Get the chicken reasonably even
Prepare the chicken so each piece is roughly the same thickness from one end to the other. Tenderloins may already be fine. Thighs usually only need the thickest sections flattened slightly. See the note below if you're using whole chicken breasts.
Season it
Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper.
Set up the crumb
Put the flour in one shallow dish. Beat the eggs with the water or milk in another. Put the breadcrumbs in a third.
Crumb the chicken
Coat each piece in flour and shake off the excess. Dip into the egg, then press firmly into the breadcrumbs until completely covered.
Want a heavier crust? After the first breadcrumb coating, dip the chicken back into the egg and crumb it a second time. It's not mandatory, but it gives you considerably more crunch.Heat the oil
Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to form a shallow layer and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Drop in a few breadcrumbs — they should immediately sizzle enthusiastically without turning black.
If you happen to have a suitable thermometer, somewhere around 170–180°C (340–355°F) is useful territory. You don't need to measure it; the breadcrumb test is perfectly serviceable.Fry
Cook the schnitzels without crowding the pan. Fry until deeply golden underneath, then turn and cook the other side. Depending on thickness this will usually take about 3–5 minutes per side.
Check the chicken
The coating should be golden and crisp and the chicken cooked through. If you're using a meat thermometer, aim for at least 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part.
Salt while hot
Move the schnitzels to a rack or paper towel and give them a light sprinkle of salt while the crust is still hot. Serve with lemon wedges.
UPGRADE
Give the chicken a few hours in buttermilk, season every layer and mix instant potato flakes through the breadcrumbs for a rougher, crunchier crust.
Method
Prepare the chicken
Make sure the chicken pieces are an even thickness. They don't need to be paper thin — they just need to cook through at roughly the same time.
Give it a buttermilk bath
Mix the buttermilk, salt, paprika and garlic powder. Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
Make the seasoned flour
Combine the flour with the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder if using and black pepper.
Make the supercrumb
Beat the eggs with the water or milk in one shallow dish. In another, combine the breadcrumbs, instant potato flakes, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder.
Drain the chicken
Lift the chicken from the buttermilk and let the excess drip away. You want it damp enough for the flour to stick, not carrying half a cup of buttermilk into the crumbing station.
Build the crust
Coat each piece thoroughly in seasoned flour, then egg, then the breadcrumb and potato mixture. Press the crumb on firmly.
Do it again
For the full supercrumb treatment, dip each piece back into the egg and give it a second coating of the breadcrumb mixture. Press it on rather than politely sprinkling crumbs in its general direction.
The second crumb is deliberate here. Between the double coating and the potato flakes, you're building a thicker, rougher crust than the Basic schnitzel.Let the crumb settle
Put the crumbed chicken on a tray for about 10 minutes before frying. This gives the coating a chance to hydrate slightly and stick to the chicken instead of abandoning it in the frying pan.
Heat the oil
Heat a shallow layer of oil over medium to medium-high heat. A few breadcrumbs dropped into the pan should immediately sizzle. Around 170–180°C (340–355°F) is a useful target if you're measuring.
Fry until properly golden
Cook in batches so the pan stays hot. Fry until the coating is deeply golden and crisp, then turn and cook the other side. Expect roughly 3–5 minutes per side depending on the chicken.
Check the middle
The chicken should reach at least 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part. If the crumb is getting dark before the chicken is ready, turn the heat down rather than cremating the outside.
Finish it
Drain briefly on a rack or paper towel, sprinkle lightly with salt while hot and serve with lemon.
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