Breading For Fish Or Chicken

By mamapig

Whenever we bread and fry anything in our test kitchen, the food disappears almost immediately. We all crowd around and dip the crunchy, salty bites into hot sauce, ketchup, and chili sauce, or simply squeeze lemon over the top. No one can resist! The best part is, there's no trick to breading, just three steps and careful frying in hot (but not too hot) oil. Once you see how easy it is, you'll have a new dinnertime favorite.

Ingredients

• 3 lg eggs
• Coarse salt
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (see below)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 8 thin chicken cutlets (ab 1 1/2 lb total)
• lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

In a shallow dish, whisk eggs with teaspoon salt; let stand 5 minutes. In another shallow dish, season flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a third shallow dish, season breadcrumbs with 1 teaspoon salt.

In a large cast-iron skillet or other heavy deep skillet, heat oil over medium. Meanwhile, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Coat in flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg (letting excess drip off). Dredge in breadcrumbs, turning twice and patting to adhere.

Increase heat to medium-high. Working in batches, add chicken to skillet; cook, gently shaking skillet occasionally, until chicken is browned, about 4 minutes. Turn with tongs; cook until browned and opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes more (if browning too quickly, lower heat). Between batches, skim off brown crumbs from oil with a slotted spoon. Drain chicken on paper towels; season with salt.

Helpful Hint

Making breadcrumbs: For 3 1/2 cups, pulse 9 slices white bread in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Some of the variations use fewer breadcrumbs

Customize Your Coating Zesty Cheese In step 1 for the breadcrumb mixture, reduce breadcrumbs to 1 3/4 cups and salt to 1/2 teaspoon; stir in 1 3/4 cups finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.

Savory Herb In step 1, stir 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme or rosemary leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried) into the breadcrumb mixture.

Crunchy Nut In step 1 for the breadcrumb mixture, briefly pulse 1 cup pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts in a food processor; add 2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs and 1 teaspoon salt, and pulse until fine crumbs form.

More Helpful Hints Pick Your Protein For a change of pace, fry turkey or veal cutlets or firm white fish fillets such as flounder or tilapia, just make sure the meat or fish is evenly and thinly sliced so it cooks through in the same time it takes for the breading to brown.

How It All Comes Together Each component in the breading is essential: The flour makes a dry surface for the egg to cling to and the egg coating helps the breadcrumbs to stick. It all adds up to a crunchy crust when fried.

Ways and Means A heavy skillet, such as cast iron, distributes heat evenly, helping cutlets cook through without burning. Test the oil's temperature by dropping in a few breadcrumbs; they should sizzle and turn golden brown in 15 seconds