Chicken schnitzel is a favorite in Israel, a take on the famous Austrian Wiener Schnitzel made with veal, but with the more easily available and less expensive chicken breast. Most chicken schnitzel recipes call for dipping the chicken into flour, then egg, and then into crumbs. This recipe keeps things simple by calling only for an egg dip, followed by dredging the cutlets into seasoned crumbs. Everyone likes it just the same!
Once you have your mise en place ready to go, the schnitzel cooks literally in minutes, for a lickety-split quick dinner on a weekday night.
Easy Chicken Schnitzel
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts, prepared for schnitzel (sliced thin, pounded)
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 eggs
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage
- Pinch cumin
- 2-3 cups seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 cup oil
- Paper towels for absorbing excess oil
Method:
- In food processor with steel knife, process onion to a fine puree. Add eggs, lemon juice and seasonings, ending with the cumin, to onion. Process until just mixed. Pour mixture into large mixing bowl.
- Add schnitzel to mixture in mixing bowl. Stir schnitzel until well coated with egg and onion mixture. Set aside.
- Pour crumbs into a large rectangular casserole dish.
- Heat half the oil, on medium heat, in a large, wide skillet.
- While oil is heating, line 4 cookie sheets with a triple layer of paper toweling for absorbing excess oil from the finished schnitzels.
- Using one hand for wet ingredients, and one for dry, left chicken pieces out of egg mixture and drop into crumbs. Using other hand, dredge chicken in crumbs until well coated.
- Drop 2 or three coated chicken pieces into hot oil. Do not crowd.
- Fry 2-3 minutes until golden on one side. Turn and cook two more minutes.
- Lift chicken schnitzels out of oil with slotted spatula. Let excess oil drip back into skillet. Lay schnitzels on the paper-towel lined cookie sheets.
- Repeat steps 6-10 with remaining chicken. If oil begins to turn color and fills with over-browned crumbs, necessary, carefully remove oil from skillet, and then add and heat remaining oil to skillet before frying remaining schnitzels.
- Serve hot with lemon wedges.