CHICKEN SCHNITZEL

My father was born in the great city of Vienna.  This is why my mother, a fantastic home cook, learned some of his favorite childhood dishes and mastered them.  This is one of her most successful recipes: chicken schnitzel – with all the shortcuts and tips I can give you to make it foolproof.

Always start with the freshest chicken breasts you can find.   Because we’re going to section them, and pound the meat into flavorful little breaded medallions, start by marinating the chicken in a bit of lime juice with a splash of red wine vinegar for ½ an hour.  We’re adding flavor at every step.

I use kitchen shears to slice up these two big breasts into sections.  Follow the grain on the flesh and cut them up into equal sizes.  Each breast becomes approximately 6-8 medallions.

I’m using a hard silicone cutting board, a stainless steel hammer and a piece of plastic wrap to turn each individual section into a flat medallion approximately ¼ to ½ inch in thickness.

Between the acids from the lime, the vinegar, and the hammer, the proteins are being broken down – this will guarantee that the chicken stays moist and flavorful while it also cooks quickly and evenly. 

After you’ve pounded all the medallions, marinate them a bit more (juice of ½ lime and a good splash of red wine vinegar).  Note: they don’t have to swim in the marinade.  Take this opportunity to prep your assembly line.  Take an egg and whisk it into a ¼ cup of whole milk.  Lightly salt and pepper – we really want to add flavor at every step in this “Schnitzel” process.

Into a flat bowl add 2 parts flour to 1 part corn starch.  Add salt, fresh pepper, some dry herbs (oregano and thyme), whisk this all together.  I used grocery store unflavored breadcrumbs – to which I added salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. 

First I dredge all the medallions in the seasoned flour/cornstarch mixture.

To make sure the breading adheres to the medallion, be certain to flour the chicken very thoroughly (use your fingers - get it into every crevice).  Next, dunk each piece into the egg wash and then quickly into the breadcrumbs.  It is a messy undertaking, but so well worth it!  Set all the breaded medallions aside.

Pour flavorless oil (such as safflower or sunflower – and cold pressed if you can find it) into your straight sided frying pan and turn the heat onto high till it begins to glisten.  It should be about ½ inches of oil in the pan.  Here are a couple of tips on frying:

1.     Don’t crowd the pan.  If you put too many into the pan, it brings the temp down, this makes them absorb more oil and that’s NOT the desired result.  High heat sears the breading and keeps the flesh moist.

2.     Don’t get burned.  When setting medallions into hot oil, set them into the frying pan away from yourself instead of towards you.  Though this is obvious, being left-handed, I hadn’t thought of it.  I used to get really burned so I always stayed away from frying things.  This was one of those things my mother did right but never knew to explain.  My cousin Gertrude in Vienna pointed this out and it made all the difference.  Set the medallion into the pan at the point closest to your body and then finish at the point farthest from your body – if it splatters, it will splatter towards the back of the stovetop, not towards you.  This means no burns.  Using long handled tongs can't hurt.

3.     Don’t mess with it.  Leave the medallion alone in the hot oil until you begin to see the edges go golden brown.  The more you use tongs or forks on the medallion, the higher the likelihood of having the breading come off the chicken.  

4.     Don’t leave the kitchen.  Don’t let the oil get too hot – if everything is burning, bring the temp down.  Also, don’t let it get cold – keep an eye on it.  At this point, it all happens very quickly and it needs your full undivided attention.

I always drain the medallions on paper towels.  After each medallion is fried, I stack them on paper towel to drain the excess oil (under and on top).  At this point, if you still have a lot more to do, you can place them in the oven and keep them warm on a low setting.  Not more than 15 minutes or they’ll go dry.

I find it's best to keep my friends out of the kitchen while preparing the platter for the table – there’ll be offers of help  “…setting the table...” – these are thinly veiled attempts at snatching medallions off your platter.  Luckily, two big chicken breast halves become about sixteen medallions.

Dinner is served!  I served my chicken schnitzel with penne (dressed with olive oil and crumbled gorgonzola) and snow peas (lightly blanched in homemade stock) and a lime wedge for some extra zing.  I hope you enjoy this family recipe – a bit of family history from my kitchen to your table. 

NOTE: You can substitute pork or beef.