Originally published on March 14, 2011
This has been something that I’ve been cooking since Brent and I first moved in together almost 14 years ago. I’ve updated it some and made it a little more sophisticated with an actual deep-fryer and a ton of dried herbs; but every time I make it, it still reminds me of when we used to throw them on for a midnight snack. Brent still loves them as much as he did back then and the kids are always thrilled when I make them too. I also like to make a big batch of them with 8 or 10 chicken breasts and then freeze what we don’t eat, which is a lot. They freeze beautifully and can be reheated in the oven easily.
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Deep fryer full of oil; or at least 12 cups of vegetable oil for deep-frying
Directions:
1.) Heat your deep-fryer, or other oil, to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. You can tell that the oil is hot enough by dropping a few bread crumbs into it. If they lay flat, don’t move and don’t begin to sizzle, the oil is not hot enough yet. If they start sizzling and browning, your oil is ready. If the oil starts splattering too high and the oil seems to attack the bread crumbs, your oil is too hot and you will need to turn it down before placing chicken in there.
2.) While oil is heating, mix together in a large bowl: bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, basil, oregano, dried mustard, chili powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix until ingredients are thoroughly blended.
3.) Place flour in a separate large bowl and eggs in another large bowl. Line all three bowls in the order of: flour, egg, bread crumb mixture.
4.) Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. One by one, place chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag. With a rolling pin, gently pound chicken breasts, moving outwards. Continue to gently pound until chicken breast has even thickness, about 1″.
5.) After all chicken breasts have been pounded out, thinly slice them into 1″ slices.
6.) Dredge chicken breasts, a few at a time, through flour, making sure to entirely cover the chicken with flour and then shaking off excess. Dip chicken breasts into egg mixture, again making sure that chicken is entirely covered with egg. Drop into bread crumb mixture and completely coat chicken with bread crumb mixture. Set chicken aside until all chicken strips have been breaded with flour, egg, and bread crumb mixture.
7.) After all chicken strips are breaded, drop them (about 7 or 8 at a time) into the oil. Cook in oil, uncovered if in a large pot of oil and covered if in a deep fryer, for about 10-15 minutes turning regularly so that oil can evenly cook chicken. When chicken becomes thoroughly browned, remove from oil and place on paper towels to rest and remove excess oil. Sprinkle very slightly with salt.
8.) Continue until all of chicken is completely cooked and has drained on paper towels. Place on serving platter.
9.) Serve and enjoy!