Chicken breast cutlets can become not just an ordinary, everyday meal, but an ornament to any holiday table.
Chicken Breast Cutlets - General Cooking Principles
Chicken meat goes well with many products, which makes it possible to make ordinary food varied and interesting. But, choosing in the store or on the market poultry meat, you need to pay attention not only to the price. Unfortunately, there is a real risk of facing unscrupulous sellers. This can ruin not only the taste of chicken breast cutlets and the mood at dinner, but also cause more serious health problems.
General recommendations for choosing chicken meat
Briefly about what you need to know, going for the purchase of real chicken meat:
• When buying a whole bird, you need to pay attention to its correct proportions. If the breast is unnaturally large, then, most likely, the bird was “pumped up” with growth hormones during its lifetime.
• Chicken should not be skinny, gray or bluish. Young and healthy meat should have a pinkish tint, small scales on the paws, be elastic when pressed.
• Chicken should not be covered with chunks of ice and it is better to choose not frozen, but chilled meat.
• If, when pressed, you feel that the surface is sticky - you should not buy such meat.
• Chicken meat should only smell like meat. Do not hesitate to smell it, before you break through the check at the box office. If the chicken breast is in vacuum packaging - carefully study the packaging and everything written on it.
Proper storage and defrosting is a healthy and tasty choice.
Try to buy meat directly, before cooking, but if you need to make a purchase in advance, remember the rules of freezing and defrosting:
• Chilled chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days;
• Thawing poultry meat, like any meat can be in the refrigerator, but it is a rather long process, so you need to plan cooking time. A pound of meat in the refrigerator defrosted to two hours. Do not forget to put the bird in a container so that during defrosting do not stain the shelves of the refrigerator; • Faster meat will defrost at room temperature, but it is necessary that it be tightly packed in a film to protect against bacteria. You can put the meat in the water so that it is completely covered, but the water needs to be changed several times during the defrosting process. Use only cold water for defrosting.
• If the meat is thawed, then back to the refrigerator, it can only be put in cooked form.
• You can defrost poultry meat and in the microwave, but try to do it only as a last resort. Because it is not tasty, and because the meat turns into useless biomass, which does not bring any nutrients to the body.
• If the meat from the freezer needs to be cooked whole, then it is thrown into the pan with water, without prior defrosting.
The most important rule of tasty and healthy meat: freeze very quickly, and defrost for a very long time. This rule applies to other products.
Meat processing.
If a whole bird is bought, and only chicken breast cutlets are on the menu, then all the same, you have to process the whole chicken first.
It happens that on the carcasses there are unused feathers, skeletons or hairs. It is possible to get rid of them by means of a gas ring. By the way, the meat will be tastier if you tar it.
Chicken legs and wings also need to pitch. In order not to burn your hands, bring the meat to the fire on a fork: so it is convenient to turn over. After the fire - water: the meat must be washed and blotted with a napkin.
Types of chicken breast cutlets and preparation of meat for their preparation
In order not to bore a lecture on the types of chops in world culinary, consider the main ways of preparing meat for different types of chicken breast and minced meat cutlets:
• For a natural chop (escalope), schnitzel, beefsteak, zraz prepare a whole piece of meat: they separate the breast from the bone and cut both lobes into two parts, across the fibers, beat off. From one chicken, 4 servings of breast meat are obtained. In the same way, you can prepare chicken breast meat for cooking zraz. • Classic cutlets cooked on the bone. Therefore, from a whole chicken, in addition to four meatballs from the breast, you can cook 4 more natural meatballs - from wings and legs: meat from the bone for natural meatballs is partially separated. The remaining parts are suitable for broth.
• For chopped chicken breast cutlets, you can use the rest of the carcass flesh. Poultry meat is separated from the bone, passed through a meat grinder or very finely chopped, adding ingredients to it, according to the selected recipe.
For preparation of forcemeat use:
- spicy herbs,
- spices,
- vegetables,
- bread,
- milk,
- cheese,
- eggs.
Chopped cutlets are prepared without filling and with it, adding to the mincemeat for chicken breast cutlets the most diverse, sometimes unexpected ingredients, giving a unique taste.
Cutlets in dough - an option for a snack on the way or outdoor recreation. And, of course, homemade burgers still tastier. And the dough, and the chops can be, at the same time, prepared in different ways, including chicken breast cutlets.
Types of heat treatment of cutlets
Depending on the type of chicken breast cutlets, you can fry them in a frying pan or in a deep fryer; cook in a double boiler or broth (for soups); stew; bake in the oven; cook over a fire using skewers (kebab) or grill (grill).
You can cook chicken breast cutlets, never repeating for a long time.
Here are recipes for tasty cutlets from the usual familiar breast.
Recipe 1. Chicken breast cutlets with shambala. Traditions of South India
There is no mistake in the word “shambala”. In this case, it is grass or beans, known to Europeans as fenugreek or, which have recently become very popular, goji berries. For this recipe, beans ground to powder are used. They resemble the smell of mushrooms and nuts at the same time. If you do not find this spice, you can use dried mushrooms, powdered and ground peanuts. In extreme cases, without fenugreek, chicken breast cutlets, in Indian style, will still have an interesting and unusual taste. The number of hot spices can be reduced, given that Indian cuisine has traditionally not skimped on hot spices. Ingredients:
• chicken breast 0.5 kg
• onions, cut 100 g
• grated ginger 15 g
• garlic, chopped 30 g
• chili, seedless 2 pcs.
• potatoes (for mashed potatoes) 150 g
• crackers, breading (white) 150 g
• chicken proteins 2 pcs.
2-5 g dry, ground spices:
• coriander
• “Garam Masala”
• chili
• seeds
• mustard
• turmeric
• crushed fenugreek beans (or peanuts)
• Salt: to taste
• mustard oil 70 g
Cooking:
Before cooking cutlets you need to crush the spices in a mortar. Freshly ground spices have a brighter and more intense flavor. The traditional seasoning - “Garam Masala”, without which in India almost no dish is prepared, is sold in specialized stores. But Indian women cook it on their own and the composition of the spices included in the seasoning has a characteristic feature in each, separate province. If you want to try the taste of South India, make a seasoning of 12 spices:
For seasoning base:
Kumin (Zira, or Indian Cumin)
Coriander Seeds
Black pepper
Allspice
Bay leaf;
Optional:
Cinnamon
Carnation
Nutmeg
Cardamom
Hot red pepper
Indian saffron (turmeric)
Fennel.
“Garam Masala” is added to the dish at the very end of cooking or sprinkled with seasoning when serving.
This seasoning is very useful for vegetable dishes, side dishes and chicken breast cutlets, not only according to Indian recipes.
Boil chicken breast with 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, salt and water until soft and pass it through a meat grinder. Pour a tablespoon of oil into a hot frying pan and add mustard seeds and dill. When they begin to crack, sauté the onions until half cooked and then put the finely chopped ginger, garlic, chili pepper; fry for 3 minutes. Then pour in chili, fenugreek, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Mix well and stir in a pan for 2-3 minutes; reduce heat, add coriander and curry. Mix again and cool the mixture, add it to the mashed potatoes, and then to the minced chicken. Sculpt medium-sized balls, roll them in egg white, then in bread crumbs and fry in butter until golden brown.
Recipe 2. Chicken breast cutlets - Parisian schnitzel. French cuisine
Ingredients:
• 900 g chicken fillet (breast)
• 1/2 Art. flour
• 1 1/2 pcs. beaten egg
• 400 g broccoli (or asparagus)
• 0.08 g vegetable oil
• 0.090 g butter melted, creamy
• salt, black pepper, ground
• For filing:
• 1/2 lemon (slices)
• celery or parsley
• juice of half a lemon
Cooking:
Divide the breast into 4 portions — cut each half across the fibers.
Beat each piece to a thickness of 0.5 cm. Beat 1 egg in a small container. Sprinkle the chopping board with flour. Roll the broken pieces first in the flour, then with a silicone brush, brush the pieces on both sides with an egg mass, and repeat the roll in the flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry each schnitzel until golden brown, on both sides. Salt and pepper during frying, if desired. Transfer the schnitzel to a napkin first to remove excess fat, then transfer to a dish or a la carte plates of vegetables. When serving, sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with fresh slices.
Garnish:
Broccoli or green asparagus to boil until cooked, add salt and spices, if desired. Season with melted butter.
Recipe 3. Chicken breast cutlets are classic Milanese style. Features Italian cuisine
Ingredients:
For 4 servings:
850 g chicken fillet (breast)
2-3 glasses of crackers (for breading)
2 eggs (beat, with salt and pepper)
For frying:
70 - 100 ml of olive oil
For garnish:
600g Cherry
1 bunch, arugula
mustard sauce - to taste
1 lemon (cut into slices)
Cooking:
Heat oil in a deep frying pan to 350 ° C - 375 ° C. Four prepared, portioned pieces of breast beat off and, alternately rolling in whipped, with salt and pepper, eggs and white bread crumbs, fry the patties for 2-3 minutes. Check the readiness, after which the cutlets are laid, individually, on a prepared napkin, to remove excess fat and crackers. Serve on a la carte plates with lemon wedges. Garnish: wash the vegetables. Arugula tear hands on 3-4 cm. Cherry cut into halves or into four parts. Season with mustard sauce.
For mustard sauce:
Mix in a jar with a screw cap:
2 parts olive oil (first extraction);
1 part lemon juice (lime);
1 part liquid honey;
2 parts wine vinegar or dry wine (white);
3 parts strong mustard;
Add salt and spices at discretion.
The unit of measurement can be a measuring spoon - table or teaspoon, if desired.
Whip all ingredients thoroughly. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Shake vigorously before use.
Recipe 4. Chicken breast cutlets - natural schnitzel. Features cooking poultry meat in the Mediterranean cuisine
Ingredients:
For 4 servings:
4 things. - chicken fillet
2-3 art. l - olive oil (or sunflower oil)
Salt and pepper mix (optional).
1 PC. - zucchini (zucchini)
1 PC. - sweet pepper (red)
1 PC. - large onion
10-12 pieces - Cherry tomatoes"
1-2 pcs - garlic cloves (small)
1/2 -1 pieces - lime (lemon)
For garnish:
400 g basmanti boiled rice
100 g black or green olives (canned)
Cooking:
Chop randomly washed and prepared onions, peppers. In the Mediterranean cuisine, it is customary to chop vegetables large. Prepared portioned pieces of chicken breast salt in advance, adding a mixture of peppers, and leave for half an hour. Then pour some butter into the pan. Fry the schnitzels for 3-5 minutes on both sides on high heat. Schnitzel remove from the pan. In the same bowl, sauté the onion and red pepper for 5 minutes. If necessary, add a little oil and then put chopped rings, 1 cm thick, zucchini, chopped garlic, squeeze lemon or lime juice into the vegetable mass; “Cherry” add to the pan in the last turn and put schnitzels on top again to warm them. Cover the pan for 5 minutes. Slice the basil, sauté the schnitzels and serve immediately to the table on a platter or in portions. Garnish: soak rice in cold water for 2 hours. Wash well and boil in plenty of water. If desired, pour ghee the butter. For each serving of chicken schnitzel - 100 g of rice, 25 g of canned olives.
Recipe 5. Greek-style chicken breast cutlets
Ingredients:
chicken fillet 1,200 kg
sweet paprika, ground 50 g
onion, cut 250 g
cumin (crushed seeds) 10 g
garlic, chopped 40 g
mustard soft (seeds) 20 g
ketchup, optional150 g
honey, optional 100 g
oil100 ml
soft mustard 30 g
balsamic vinegar and apple 50mg
dried oregano 30 g
rosemary, crushed (dried) 15 g
salt.
For garnish:
Boiled potatoes 0,600 g
Mint leaves, fresh 100 g
Natural or sour cream yoghurt, low-fat 200 g
Cooking:
In Greece, in this recipe, natural chicken breast cutlets are baked for Easter or Christmas.
Preheat oven to 200 ° C. In a large container to put all the ingredients, except the fillet and mix. Put the chicken fillet in the marinade so that the meat is completely covered with the mixture. Cover with foil for a couple of hours so that the flavor of the spices soaks into the cutlets. Cover the baking dish with foil, brush with butter and put chicken cutlets in one layer and bake in the oven until golden brown. Serve warm.
Garnish: medium-sized boiled potatoes, put into a baking dish, pour with yogurt or sour cream and sprinkle with half of minced mint leaves. When the potatoes are red in the oven, sprinkle with the rest of the herbs. Serve warm chicken breast cutlets, garnish with fresh vegetables and greens.
Recipe 6. Chicken breast cutlets with Bulgarian oatmeal
Ingredients:
1-2 eggs
salt and pepper
3 bulbs, large (1 pc. - for gravy)
1 glass of “Hercules”
1 kg chicken fillet, for minced meat
1/2 cup fresh cream
For frying:
7-8 tbsp vegetable and ghee
ground cloves 1 glass of tomato juice (or sauce)
1 carrot
bay leaf, ground
red, sweet pepper (paprika slices)
2 tbsp. l flour
ground coriander seeds
fresh parsley, dill, celery (optional)
1 tsp Sahara
Cooking:
Grind onion and chicken meat in a meat grinder. In a large container, mix the mince with the other ingredients and beat the cutlet mass well. Cover with dishware with minced meat and send for half an hour in the refrigerator. Chopping board chop oatmeal. Form 100 g of cutlets from cooled minced meat and roll them on a cutting board into flakes. Place the cutlets in a frying pan, greased with fat: fry on one side at maximum heat, turn over, reduce the heat and heat, cover with a lid. Put the finished patties on a plate. Carrots with onions, for sauce, grind in a blender, to a puree state, adding salt, sugar and spices. Pour the resulting mass into the same pan and bring to a boil. Put the cutlets back into the sauce, sprinkle with fresh herbs, bring the sauce with the cutlets to a boil again. Serve cutlets hot on the table, with a side dish of rice, mushrooms or any vegetables.
Recipe 7. Turkish Chicken Breast Cutlets
Ingredients:
• 8 chops, chicken
• 2-3 Art. l tomato paste
• Bow
• Flour
• Olive oil
• Potatoes (4 pcs.)
• White pepper (ground)
• salt
• Garlic (3 slices)
• Oregano (dried)
• Pepper red (sweet paprika)
• 8 toothpicks
• 3-4 Art. l natural yogurt
Cooking:
Wash and chop the garlic and onions in a small amount. Mix all the spices with tomato paste in a large bowl or pan. In the resulting mass dip chops and rub them well. Transfer the contents from the bowl to a plastic bag, tie and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into thin plates. Remove from the refrigerator portions of chicken fillet and on a cutting board into each chop, alternately veil thin slices of potatoes, smearing them with a mixture of onion, garlic and yogurt. Each chop roll roll and secure with a toothpick. Preheat oven to 200 ° C. Liberally grease a baking sheet with oil, tart with flour, lay out rolls and sprinkle them with dry oregano. Bake 25 - 30 minutes.
Recipe 8. Chicken Breast Cutlets - Appetizer “Branded”
Ingredients:
For rolls:
• 8 servings (200 g) of chicken chop
• Oil for frying
• 8 toothpicks (or skewers)
For filling:
• 100 g onions
• sugar, salt, pepper
• 0.500 kg of chicken liver
• 0,050 g butter
• 1 large carrot
For flood:
• 2-3 glasses of broth, saturated (chicken)
• 10 g of instant gelatin
For submission:
• 1 carrot (boiled)
• green peas and corn (canned)
• parsley (fresh leaves)
• lemon wedges
• pitted olives, black (canned)
pastry bag.
Cooking:
Fry chops, 0.5 cm thick, roll them with a cone and stab them with a toothpick. You can use plastic skewers. Leave to cool. Dilute gelatin and pour into broth. Pour the ready broth on a large dish with a high side. Prepare pate from stewed chicken liver, onions, carrots and butter, carefully beating up all the ingredients with a blender. Add pepper and salt to taste. Put the cooled mass into a pastry bag and squeeze it into conical “envelopes” from the chops. Put the finished rolls with the fan on a half-soaked broth so that their lower part drowns in the filler. Cut out the flowers or asterisks from the boiled carrot slices and place them in front of each roll with fresh parsley leaves. Between the rolls put the whole (round) slice of lemon, turning it with a cone, in the opposite direction. Inside the lemon slices put half the olives. When the broth hardens, top with the decoration of the dish with green peas and corn.
Recipe 9. Chicken breast cutlets - “Octopussy” for kids
Every adult, at least once in his life, faced the problem of feeding a child. But if you show a little imagination and patience, then the baby will not be capricious at the table, and with pleasure will eat interestingly designed dish. Ingredients:
Spaghetti - 50 g
Minced Chicken - 100 g
Half a small onion
1/2 egg or whole yolk.
Cooking:
Let pediatricians and nutritionists resent, but baby food should be salted - just a little bit so that it is not completely tasteless. Children do not like onions, so it’s necessary to add onions to any dish, but we carefully hide it with a blender. We make minced meat from twice ground poultry meat, a piece of onion and egg yolk. If the mince is liquid, add a little flour. Boiled spaghetti in the middle is wrapped in minced meat, in the form of a ball, so that the “tentacles” stick out around the meat ball. Boil the “octopus” on a pair, from the peas and carrots do mouth and eyes. “Octopuses” should smile! And on the garnish, give the kid red cabbage or grated carrots, or you can - both. And tell me what it is - seaweed. You can also make “starfish” from mincemeat and tell the kid the following tale of the sea.
Chicken Breast Cutlets - Tricks and Tips
• To make each dish perfect, use a uniform combination of sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavors. Spices should not drown out the flavor of the main product.
• To make chicken breast cutlets more juicy and tender, add a little water or milk to the mince.
• Salt chops (schnitzel) to the end of frying, before removing the meat from the pan. Salt dries the meat and tightens it while frying.
• Rosy crust on chicken meat will help to create honey, sour cream, maple syrup, mustard. But it is necessary to lubricate the chicken at the end of cooking so that it does not turn out that the top burns and the meat does not fry inside.
• Any dish is decorated with serving and the right combination of foods. It would not be superfluous to remind you that white wine is served with white meat of chicken cooked with herbs. Red meat is combined with Chardonnay. Chicken in sauce or mayonnaise perfectly complement the beer. Chicken can be cooked many dishes. Cook with love and everything will work out!
