Chicken Parmigiana

Name: Chicken Parmigiana
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: United States and Australia
Ingredients: 2 (about 1¼ lb) large skinless chicken breasts, about 550 g, halved horizontally; 5 g (¾ tsp) fine sea salt; freshly ground black pepper; 50 g (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour; 2 eggs, beaten; 80 g (1 cup) panko or dry breadcrumbs; 30 g (⅓ cup) Parmesan, finely grated, for the crumbs; 250 ml (1 cup) neutral oil, for shallow frying; 300 ml (1¼ cups) Tomato Sauce, or good jarred marinara; 200 g (7 oz) low-moisture mozzarella, sliced or torn; 20 g (¼ cup) Parmesan, grated, for the top; 4 basil leaves, torn

Crisp crumbed chicken under tomato sauce and melting mozzarella

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 35 min
Total: 50 min
Level: Easy

Chicken parm is an Italian-American invention (Italy's parmigiana is made with eggplant, see Eggplant Parmigiana). Crisp, thin crumbed chicken — made like Chicken Schnitzel, with Parmesan in the crumbs — is topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan and blasted in a hot oven just long enough to melt the cheese — so the coating underneath stays crunchy.

Ingredients

2large skinless chicken breasts (about 1¼ lb)about 550 g, halved horizontally
5 gfine sea salt (¾ tsp)
freshly ground black pepper
50 gall-purpose flour (⅓ cup)
2eggsbeaten
80 gpanko or dry breadcrumbs (1 cup)
30 gParmesan (⅓ cup)finely grated, for the crumbs
250 mlneutral oil (1 cup)for shallow frying
300 mlTomato Sauce (1¼ cups)or good jarred marinara
200 glow-moisture mozzarella (7 oz)sliced or torn
20 gParmesan (¼ cup)grated, for the top
4basil leavestorn

Allergens: gluten, egg, milk
Origin: United States and Australia (Italian-American)

Method

Heat the oven to 230°C (450°F), with the top grill on if your oven has it.
Pound the chicken pieces between plastic wrap to an even 1 cm thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the panko with 30 g Parmesan. Dredge the chicken in flour, then egg, then the crumbs, pressing to coat.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat to about 175°C (350°F) — a crumb should sizzle hard. Fry the chicken 2 pieces at a time until deep golden, 2–3 minutes a side. Drain on a rack. 10 min
Set the cutlets on a sheet pan. Spoon a stripe of warm tomato sauce down the middle of each, leaving the edges bare so they stay crisp. Top with mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.
Bake until the cheese is melted and blistered in spots, 5–8 minutes. The chicken must be 74°C (165°F) in the center. 6 min
Scatter with basil and serve with spaghetti tossed in the rest of the sauce, or a green salad.

Why it works

Frying the cutlets first sets a crisp crust that the sauce can't ruin as long as you use only a little and keep it to the middle. A very hot oven melts the cheese in minutes, before steam from the sauce softens the coating. Low-moisture mozzarella browns and stretches without releasing water.

Common mistakes

Drowning the cutlet in sauce. A stripe is enough; serve extra on the side.
Using fresh mozzarella packed in water; it weeps. Use low-moisture or drain and dry fresh mozzarella well.
Baking too long at a low temperature, which makes the crust soggy.

Variations

Eggplant and chicken stack: Layer each cutlet with a slice of fried eggplant before the sauce.
Parm sandwich: Serve in a toasted sub roll with extra sauce.