Chicken Parmesan
A delightful and satisfying dish made with tender chicken breasts, a flavorful tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese
A delightful and satisfying dish made with tender chicken breasts, a flavorful tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese
- Carbohydrate 130.047148658217 g
- Cholesterol 207.4845584 mg
- Fat 42.8550185016156 g
- Fiber 20.7774997614857 g
- Protein 75.4734120639778 g
- Saturated Fat 16.154422929073 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1595g)
- Sodium 1635.84943709227 mg
- Sugar 109.269648896731 g
- Trans Fat 4.4061879662798 g
- Calories 1152 calories
Step-by-step
- Trim and carefully slice the chicken breasts in half.
- For thinner cutlets: with the flat side of a cleaver or a heavy skillet (you can also use a roller or even a wine bottle), pound or roll the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap to the desired thickness (usually about 1/4"). OR butterfly them.
- Spread the bread crumbs and desidred spices on a flat plate.
- Preheat oven to 400?.
- Warm the tomato sauce, seasoning to taste.
- Bread cutlets by dipping them first in flour, then in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs.
- On medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Sautee the breaded cutlets until they are deep golden brown on both sides. Remove to paper cooling rack over paper towels to drain.
- Put 1/2 cup of the warm tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the cutlets in one layer. Add the cooked cutlets to the baking dish; cover with the rest of the tomato sauce of the warm tomato sauce and the sliced/grated mozzarella.
- Cook the chicken parmesan in the oven for ten minutes. If the cheese has not melted/browned you can slip it under the broiler for a minute or so - keep an eye on it so the cheese does not burn.
- Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Goes great with a side of pasta and a green salad and or French/Italian bread, or garlic bread.
What happens when the pantry lacks standard breadcrumbs or fresh mozzarella? Modifying components of baked poultry cutlets alters both moisture retention and crust development. Understanding these physical shifts ensures predictable results even when straying from the baseline formula.
- Substituting panko for standard fine breadcrumbs increases surface area, yielding a shatteringly crisp exterior that resists sogginess from the tomato sauce.
- Blending extra virgin olive oil with unsalted butter raises the smoke point while retaining dairy solids for browning; using pure butter alone risks scorching the pan at medium-high heat.
- Pounding cutlets uniformly to one-quarter inch thickness ensures the meat cooks through during the ten minutes spent in a 400-degree oven before the cheese breaks down.
- Fresh mozzarella contains significantly higher moisture content than low-moisture block varieties, which can pool excess liquid in the baking dish; blotting fresh cheese slices on paper towels mitigates this issue.
- Swapping fresh herbs like basil and thyme for dried equivalents requires adjusting the ratio to one teaspoon of dried herb for every tablespoon of fresh leaf to prevent overwhelming the sauce.
Maillard reactions on the breaded exterior combine with the umami compounds in cooked tomatoes and lipids from melting cheese to build savory depth. Managing these chemical transformations relies entirely on maintaining proper moisture control during the pan-frying and baking stages.
