Chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs are tasty, hearty, appetizing looking and simple to prepare, able to decorate a festive table or diversify the menu. What are not convincing arguments for their frequent cooking? However, chicken meat has special properties that should be considered. There are several nuances.
Cutlets
The first mention of cutlets as a separate dish is found in the old cookbooks of French restaurants. Then they were pieces of fillet on the bone, fried in boiling oil in deep fat. As well as whole parts of fish fillet fried in oil, which are rolled in flour or ground breadcrumbs.
The dish was very popular. Many peoples adopted it and began to cook in their own way from the available products. Since then, depending on the country, the concept of "meatballs" has changed beyond recognition. They began to be prepared not only from fish or meat, but also from vegetables (potato pancakes - Belarusian meatballs, which are based on minced raw potatoes).
An obligatory ingredient of mincemeat for any meatballs is an egg: it sticks the meat and when frying it does not allow the meatballs to crawl out in a pan, turning into fried minced meat. Roll the cutlets in flour or breadcrumbs, which prevents them from sticking to the bottom of the pan during frying. But even breadcrumbs give the finished dish an appetizing crust. Minced chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs is a dish that is easy to prepare in modern conditions and does not fall into the mud in front of invited or uninvited guests.
Minced meat
To cook chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs, you must prepare the following products:
- chicken fillet - 0.5 kg;
- egg - 1 pc.;
- medium sized onion;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- milk cream - half a glass;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- starch - 0.5 tsp (to give a beautiful crust);
- ground black pepper - a pinch;
- breadcrumbs for boning.
There are two ways to use chicken fillet: grind it through a meat grinder or finely chop it with a knife. The second method is preferable, since the taste of chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs increases sharply. But it is more labor intensive and takes time.
The remaining components of the dish must be ground through a meat grinder and thoroughly mixed. Put the minced meat in the refrigerator for half an hour. After that, beat him in a bowl until he begins to take in his hand a whole lump. Then again, place it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Cooking process
The resulting minced meat is divided into pieces weighing 50-70 grams. To form balls from each, rolling between palms dipped in water. After that, roll them in breadcrumbs and give them a cylindrical shape. Fold on a flat surface sprinkled with breadcrumbs so that they do not stick to it.
Pour sunflower oil into a dry skillet and heat it until it starts to smoke slightly. Carefully pick up each cutlet, trying not to disturb its shape, and lower it into boiling oil. Cutlets are fried over low heat under a tightly closed lid until a golden crust is formed.
For those who follow a diet, medicinal or for weight loss, you can cook chicken cutlets in the oven, the recipe for minced meat is the same. The difference lies in the cooking method. To do this, you need to grease the form with butter, put the patties on it and place it in the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cooked chicken meatballs in the oven, the recipe of which is given above, contain fewer calories and are easier to absorb by the body.
Little tricks
Unlike beef or pork, chicken has a soft texture, low density and quickly cooks. This property makes you observe some rules that distinguish chicken fillet in breadcrumbs from cooking products from other types of meat:
- Chicken cutlets need to be fried under a tightly closed lid. In this case, there is no need to steam them. Without steaming, the cutlets will have a crisp, fantastically combined with soft contents.
- It is best to grind minced chicken meat yourself, rather than buying ready-made.
- No need to overcook cutlets, trying to give them a crust: overcooked cutlets do not look so appetizing and will be bitter.
- Grind bread into the minced meat for chicken cutlets: the taste of the food weakens, it becomes less pronounced due to the soft structure of the chicken fillet.
- Ready cutlets have the highest taste, being slightly chilled after frying. Those cooled in the refrigerator and warmed up will not be the same.
- Boning breadcrumbs for boning are best taken from rye bread.
- Do not add sparkling mineral water to the minced meat, as many recipes say: this makes no sense - it does not affect anything.
- Also, do not add any ingredients to the mince, except the ones listed, and use your imagination only when preparing a side dish or sauce for these cutlets.
Despite the simplicity of the components and the simplicity of the preparation, chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs according to this recipe are unusually tasty and beautiful.