Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Crispy Chicken Parmesan

I used to work at The Olive Garden and one of my favorite dishes they served was Chicken Parmesan. I loved how crispy it was, but the chicken inside that crispy crust was dry and bland.

This Chicken Parmesan that I made turned out way better than The Olive Garden. The key to a good Chicken Parmesan or other similar dishes like Eggplant Parmesan, or Schnitzel, is a CRISPY crust. Not a soggy greasy crust that falls off before you take the first bite. I think the secret to a crispy crust lies in the temp of the oil when you fry it, and also the way you bread it. I like to dip mine in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. And the oil needs to be almost smoking hot before you put the chicken into the pan. And don't overcrowd the pan. Just a few pieces at a time, or the oil temp goes down and they don't fry and crisp up properly. Keep the finished ones in a warm oven while the rest are frying.

My mother in law came over, unexpectedly tonight and had dinner with us. She said this was Sooo good. I was thinking I kinda slacked since I used a jarred marinara sauce, but I do have to admit, the sauce was yummy and the chicken came out perfectly...it was good!!

Chicken Parmesan

1 lb chicken breast cutlets
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
3 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
enough oil to fill a pan up 1/4 inch
1 jar prepared marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pound out the chicken breasts so that they are 1/2 inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides.

In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish whisk the eggs with the water.

Heat oil in a pan until hot and almost smoking. Dip the chicken cutlets into the flour, then the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs...pressing to make the crumbs stick to the chicken. Fry for several minutes on each side. When golden brown and crisp, remove from pan onto a paper towel lined baking dish. Keep hot in a 200 degree oven until all chicken in fried. Increase oven temp to 435. When chicken is cooked, put into a greased baking dish and spoon marinara sauce over the cutlets. Top with cheese. Put back into oven and bake 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned. Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce on the side.



12 comments:

Carrie said...

YUM! I love chicken parmesan!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

A previous OG employee huh?! I would have loved to work there just to figure out how to make some of their dishes. I really hope they don't use prepared sauces and such.... do they??

Rachel said...

Joelen, a lot of their stuff is pre made or frozen. I think they make the marinara, meat and tomato sauces, and the alfredo. Even though I loved the food, that was way before I learned to cook or appreciated fresh, good food..so at the time I thought it was great food. Now when I eat there, I leave with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

Anonymous said...

yum i have been looking for a good recipe such as this dear, will def try! u just fry in a pan of oil not a fryer right? :)

Rachel said...

I just use some oil in a pan. No deep fryer needed!

TIFFANY MESA said...

I tried this and it was awesome!! It was a bit salty for my taste but I am not a big salt fan to begin with. I did it in an iron skillet and used Safflower oil because of its high smoking point. It worked very well and was still crispy 2 days later!! I also used sauce that I made myself. Then again I am also a chef so bottled stuff wont cut it for me. All in all I am quite the critic and it gets 5 stars from me!!

Anonymous said...

You can get original Olive Garden recipes just by visiting their Web site. And one cool feature allows you to adjust the recipe based on the number you are serving! Try the Venetian Apricot Chicken. Yum!!

Anonymous said...

I just made this recipe tonight and while it was very good, the breading, and cheese fell off while cutting the chicken during eating. What can I do to not make this happen?

Anonymous said...

SOOO Good!! Thanks for sharing!!

Tricia said...

THANKS for posting an OG recipe for chicken parmesan that is not made with a white sauce! Bottled red marinara or not, it beats the recipes that call for cream, sour cream and flour as the sauce. That is just WRONG. Clearly they have not actually had OG food. I love fresh also, but if you choose wisely you don't have to get that 'heavy' feeling from eating there. We have also experienced that. Home cooking just can't be beat. Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

Good job! I'm glad I found a great new blog. Also, mother-in-laws as a rule should not drop in. Just sayin'. :D

Anonymous said...

This was great!! Best I've ever made! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!!