I was making boneless chicken breasts for dinner last night. I cannot get excited about boneless breasts. I know they are a blank canvas and take well to all sorts of flavors but I frequently find them to be dry no matter how carefully I cook them. I prefer dark meat but my husband prefers white meat so we have a battle which I usually win because I'm the cook. I was thinking of a twist on a recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant
I made extra to have for sandwiches later in the week.
Chicken Milanese
- 8 boneless chicken breasts
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbs kosher salt
- 2 tbs sugar
- 8 peppercorns
- 1 cup flour
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups breadcrumbs (use whichever ones you have on hand; I used seasoned breadcrumbs that my local market makes in their bakery section. Panko would be excellent)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1 lemon
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
Combine water, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Place chicken in a ziptop bag and pour over the salt water. Seal and place in the refrigerator for two hours.
Remove chicken from brine and dry with paper towels. Pound each breast until uniform in size. Place the flour on a plate, the eggs in a bowl and the breadcrumbs on another plate. Dredge the chicken first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a baking sheet.
Heat canola oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Cook chicken breasts until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Drain on paper towels.
Toss arugula and tomato with the lemon juice and olive oil. Serve chicken breast with salad.
