The Humble Breaded Chicken Cutlet

Think of all the great food one can eat on a trip to Israel – falafel, schwarma, shakshuka, hummus, huge savory Israeli breakfasts with cheeses and vegetables and fish, not to mention the sweet, honeyed desserts. Sad to say, when my grandfather took me on a trip to Israel in 1980 at the age of 13, I ate almost nothing – except schnitzel. Turkey schnitzel, I believe it was, pounded thin, breaded, and fried, with a wedge of lemon, which I probably ignored. Schnitzel, for almost every single meal. When I look back on it now, I realize all I ate during the entire trip was Israeli chicken fingers; I was no different than today’s American youth. Let me explain.

I’ll sometimes ask my high school students “what should I cook for dinner?” Every time, without fail someone will say “chicken cutlets.” Others nod in agreement. To this day, at age 18, if we’re out to eat with my daughter, it’s an even bet that she’ll order chicken fingers. (The other half of the time she orders a bacon sandwich – bacon, toast – unless she’s at a taco joint.) American children have an obsession with chicken cutlets or their restaurant variant, chicken fingers. Although chicken fingers weren’t on restaurant menus when I was growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s, they were there in Israel in the form of schnitzel.

This is not to say there’s anything wrong with schnitzel or breaded chicken cutlets or even good quality chicken fingers. In fact, they are all quite delicious, and breaded chicken cutlets fill an important niche in my kitchen repertoire. That’s because everyone loves them, especially the crispy bits, and they can be eaten plain as the focus of the meal, or dressed up in dozens of different ways. I now bake, not pan fry a large batch and we eat variations for a day or two to follow.

I’ll put them on a big roll with pesto and fresh mozzarella, or with lettuce, hot peppers, and avocado. They make for an extra special grown up grilled cheese or they may top a salad for lunch the next day. Chicken cutlets can become tomorrow night’s chicken parmesan using homemade tomato sauce (just leave the meat out of the sauce). One of my favorites, especially in early fall when I still have tomatoes in the garden and the leaves on my cool-weather crop of arugula are growing, is chicken Milanese – breaded chicken cutlets covered with arugula, tomato, cubes of fresh mozzarella, and slivers of red onion with a balsamic dressing.

If I were to visit Israel again today, I would revel in eating all types of food. But like an American teenager, I would be sure that chicken cutlets – in the form of schnitzel – were at the center of at least one meal.

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Making breaded chicken cutlets follows a standard procedure that all home cooks should know. The breading can be used for coating all sorts of foods including pork, fish, zucchini, green tomatoes, and mozzarella balls, which then get fried. As with these other foods, the chicken is first dusted with a thin coating of flour, followed by an egg wash, and finally a layer of seasoned breadcrumbs. The flour adheres to the chicken; the egg wash sticks to the flour; and the breadcrumbs are held in place by the egg.

While breaded chicken cutlets are usually fried to crunchy perfection, I usually bake mine to make them a little healthier; I find that they are still crispy and delicious. If you want to pan fry them, feel free. Use about a half cup of oil in a 10-inch skillet and make sure to bake them for a few minutes after, so that the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Breaded chicken cutlets are usually made with thin-sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breast pounded thin. But I sometimes use boneless skinless chicken thighs or a mix of breast and thighs, depending on who is eating them. I find the thighs to be juicier and more flavorful, and it is much harder to overcook them than chicken breast. Of course if you want to make proper chicken fingers, you can buy packages of chicken tenders, the long narrow piece of white meat that separates easily from the underside of the chicken breast. (You can also cut pieces of chicken breast or thigh into chicken finger-size pieces.)

Instead of straight bread crumbs, I also add panko and corn meal, both of which add a little extra crunch. But they are not necessary; use straight breadcrumbs if that’s what you have. In addition, I season the bread crumb mixture with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper for a little kick. However, the seasonings can be as varied as the spices in your cabinet.

serves 4, about 1 hour

cooking oil spray

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. water

1½ cups breadcrumbs

½ cup panko

2 Tbsp. cornmeal

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper or more to taste

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1. Preheat oven to 375 ^o
2. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Put wire cooling racks in the sheet pan and spray them with cooking oil spray. There needs to be enough wire cooling rack area to hold the chicken spread out and flat. The wire cooling racks will allow hot air to circulate in the oven so the chicken crisps up all around, and the aluminum foil and cooking oil spray will make cleanup much easier.
3. Put the flour in one large flat bowl.
4. Put the eggs, milk, and water in a second large flat bowl. Beat to combine.
5. Add the breadcrumbs, panko, cornmeal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and the cayenne pepper (or whatever seasonings you are using) in a third large flat bowl and mix well to combine.
6. Place each piece of chicken into the flour, coating it well, then lightly shake off excess flour.
7. Dip the floured piece of chicken in the egg wash mixture so it is covered all around. Allow excess to drip off.
8. Thoroughly dredge the piece of chicken in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs lightly to adhere.
9. Place the piece of chicken flat on the wire cooling rack and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
10. Spray each piece of chicken lightly with cooking oil spray.
11. Place in the oven and bake until done, about 40 minutes (or less if using thin-sliced or pounded chicken breast.) To make extra crispy bits, broil for a minute or two at the end, making sure not to burn them.

Leftover breaded chicken cutlets can be reheated and crisped up for sandwiches, chicken parmesan, or chicken Milanese by putting them on a sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and broiling for a few minutes on each side, flipping every couple of minutes so they do not burn.

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