Ground Chicken cutlets
Ground chicken cutlets
If you have ever been to a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, you know that they offer a large variety of “chicken schnitzel” or breaded cutlet dishes, such as chicken parmesan, piccata, lemon, and several other variations — all based out of your primary breaded chicken cutlet. Here is a quick and easy technique for preparing your own breaded cutlets or nuggets that can be finished in myriad ways. Essentially, you are preparing your own procesed chicken patties or nuggets, except that yours are not chemically processed with polysyllable preservatives, enhancers, fillers, etc.
Begin with store bought ground chicken. Although tempting, the ground chicken breast tends to be too lean and dry; just go with the “ground chicken” label instead.
In a bowl, mix your ground chicken with some primary seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried herbs — pretty much what you would season sliced & pounded chicken with. Also add some bread crumbs to help the binding.
Lining non-stick parchment paper on the bottom of a tray or pan, scoop some ground chicken mixture onto it and shape it into a cutlet, nugget, or whatever. I like mine as thin cutlets, but that is entirely up to you.
When you have completed forming the chicken mixture into shaped portions, transfer the trays w the parchment paper to the freezer. Let them cool for 15-20 minutes until they are firmed up.
They are now ready to be breaded and fried. Remove the cutlet from the parchment paper and dredge in a shallow pan of flour. Then dip the cutlet into an egg bath (a couple of beaten eggs), and then coat the cutlet with panko or breadcrumbs.
Saute at medium heat in a deep skillet, until the breading is a golden brown. Place on a rack to drain.
Ground chicken parmesan
At this point, you can freeze the finished cutlets for future use, or turn them into tonight’s meal.
For example, cover them in a marinara or Italian sauce, add fresh cheese, and bake them into chicken parm. (350 degrees for 10 minutes, then a couple minutes under the broiler for browning the cheese). Or skillet them into a lemon picatta sauce. Or an orange sweet & sour oriental sauce. Or a wine sauce. Use your imagination!
