I probably don’t make this nearly as good as an Italian chef would, but it is delicious to us. This chicken recipe is often requested by my oldest who prefers chicken to other protein options.
It seems like an extremely complicated meal, but it is actually really easy. The trick is to keep breadcrumbs in your freezer for using anytime you want them. I will often mix up the bread crumb, cheese, and herb mixture in a large batch so that I can use it on various dishes in a pinch. Butterfly cutting the chicken makes all the difference when using chicken breast. It allows it to cook evenly and not overcook. Which happens all too often with chicken breast. I find it really easy to do this if my knife is sharp. I like to use a large cutting board, so that I have room to maneuver. And my large sharp knife, so that it cuts the entire length of the breast at once. That will help keep an even cut. Once I cut them, I always cover with plastic wrap before hitting them with a meat mallet. This keeps my kitchen from getting splattered with chicken juices.
After I have cut, dredged, and pan fried the chicken it is hard not to eat it just like that. But trust me it is even better with a Marinara Sauce or spaghetti sauce on top.
In the pictures I have used a leftover spaghetti sauce that has ground meat, but usually I use a meatless sauce. I like to use my own sauce, but any good quality sauce will work. The cheese on the top needs to be a good mozzarella or mix with provolone. That gives it a good stringy cheese to works well with the flavor of the chicken and sauce. We will often shred our own that we buy in bulk or get the nice fresh mozzarella and slice it. It’s way better than buying pre-shredded cheese. Serve this over your favorite pasta or try putting it on a nice soft bun and Enjoy!
Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-3 cups oil
- 1 tsp salt
Bread crumb mixture:
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs optional, sub equal of regular crumbs in place.
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Topping:
- 1 quart jar marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded or fresh mozzarella
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Butterfly cut each chicken breast creating 8 pieces. Place each breast on a sturdy cutting board and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a mess. Use a mallet and gently tenderize each piece. Don’t over do it. You don’t want them to break apart, just spread out slightly.
- Prepare your breading in three containers that the chicken can easily be dipped in. In the first container mix together egg and milk, whisking it until all yolk is mixed in. In the second container place flour and about 1 tsp salt. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumb mixture and then pour some into the third dipping container. Carefully take each piece of butterflied chicken breast and dip into the egg, flour, then breading coating the entire fila. Set onto a cookie sheet and repeat until all are coated.
- Heat a large shallow skillet with a shallow layer of the oil. It needs to come just below the middle thickness of the chicken breast. Pan fry each chicken filet on each side until golden and reach an internal temperature of 165’F. As each one cooks place them on a cooling wrack to drip off any excess oil. After all pieces are fried, place the cooked chicken filets onto a cookie sheet. Spread the marinara evenly over the tops of each. Sprinkle or thinly layer the cheese on top of the marinara. Place in the oven at 375’F for at least 5 minutes to heat up the marinara and melt the cheese on top. Serve with your favorite pasta and vegetables.
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