As chicken is one of the most popular meats in the US, variety is king to continue to enjoying it. Chicken Milanese is a change-up from the traditional, Italian Vitello alla Milanese or Veal Milanese.
A breaded and fried chicken, pork or veal cutlet is something many countries have in their repertoire. Just to name a few; a Wiener Schnitzel obviously originates from Austria and is a veal cutlet. In neighboring Germany, a schnitzel can be any type of meat, but a Schweineschnitzel is made from pork. In France you can find a Pariser Schnitzel or Escalope Parisienne; a veal cutlet without the bread crumbs, just flour and egg.
In Italy you will find a Veal Milanese or Veal Parmesan (Vitello alla Parmigiana). These recipes are basically the same as far as the meat is concerned, but the way they are served is different. The Milanese version is traditionally served with lemon and/or a simple salad, while the Parmigiano version is covered in tomato sauce and topped with Mozzarella and/or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
I made Chicken Milanese instead of Veal Milanese simply because veal is not easy to find around here and rather expensive for a regular meal. Furthermore, I prefer the ‘Milanese’ over the ‘Parmesan’ because the crispy meat part is more important to me than the red-saucy part. Besides, you can always transform a Chicken Milanese into a Chicken Parmesan, but not the other way around.
Key Ingredient in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- For the Chicken
- Chicken cutlets – if you can buy chicken breast in a store already cut into cutlets – that’s perfect, go for it as it saves you time. If chicken cutlets are not around, slice boneless, skinless chicken breasts fillets horizontally, so you end up with two thin cutlets (about 1/4 inch thick). Cover the chicken with plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken until it is about 1/4-inch thick- everywhere.
- All-purpose flour
- Egg
- Bread crumbs – use unseasoned panko, so you can control the seasoning.
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese -buy the real Italian cheese, if you can afford it.
- Sage
- For the Butter Lettuce Salad
- Butter or Boston Lettuce – other type of lettuce will do, but the butter lettuce is so soft, making it a perfect counter texture for the crispy chicken.
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Chives
How to Make Chicken Milanese
Step 1 – Mix all-purpose flour with salt and pepper and cover each side of the chicken cutlets with the flour mixture.
Alternatively, you can rub the cutlets with salt & pepper and then cover both sides with flour. Shake off excess.
Step 2 – Whisk an egg on a plate and coat the floured chicken cutlets with the egg. Again both sides.
Step 3 – Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese and the finely chopped sage. Transfer the egged chicken cutlets to the bread crumbs mix and coat on both sides. Make sure all the egg is covered.
- Step 4 – Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a skillet, over medium-high heat. Place both chicken cutlets in the skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides. This is a few minutes per side. Move the chicken to a wire rack and allow to rest a few minutes. The chicken is safe to consume when it has reached 165 degrees F, this means that you can take it off the heat around 155 degrees as it continues to cook while it rests.
How to Make the Butter Lettuce Salad
- Pull the lettuce leaves off the head, take out the core and wash and dry the leaves.
- Slice the avocado and the cucumber in bite-size pieces.
- Make the dressing by mixing olive oil with red wine vinegar, mustard and salt & pepper.
- Place lettuce leaves, avocado and cucumber slices in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing and mix. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most recipes will call for a neutral oil or vegetable oil when frying, but olive oil is perfectly fine. In general, you need an oil with a relatively high smoke point. The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke – you can see it. This means the oil starts to break down and that’s not a good thing.
A high smoke point means that the oil can take high temperature before it starts breaking down, before it starts smoking. Oils with high smoke points are: avocado oil, peanut oil, canola oil.
Most likely the temperature of the oil was not high enough when you placed the cutlet in the skillet. Or there were too many chicken cutlets in the skillet that the temperature of the oil lowered too much.
When breading fall off the meat, it means that the various layers are not ‘communicating’.
1. Make sure you shake off excess of flour, before you place it in the whisked egg. Too much flour prevent the egg layer to stick to the all the flour.
2. Make sure you cover all of the cutlets with the egg, so you have no dry spots anywhere. The breaded layer cannot stick to the flour layer, that’s why the egg is in the middle.
3. It wouldn’t hurt to pat down the flour layer and the breaded layer, without overdoing it.
You have left-overs? All kidding aside, when you do have left-over Chicken Milanese, store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
You can eat it straight from the fridge on a sandwich or just the way it is. It’s pretty darn good. If you want to eat it warm again, place it in a 400-450 degrees F oven for about 5-6 minutes or pan-fry it just to crisp it up again.
Chicken Milanese with Butter Lettuce Salad
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
For the Chicken Milanese
- 8 ounces chicken breast (NOTE 1), or chicken cutlets
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- salt & pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs, unseasoned
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon sage, finely chopped
- neutral oil for frying (NOTE 2)
For the Butter Lettuce Salad
- 1 head Butter lettuce, or Boston lettuce
- 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard
- salt & pepper
- chives, finely chopped
Instructions
Make the Chicken Milanese
- Mix all-purpose flour with salt and pepper and cover each side of the chicken cutlets with the flour mixture. (NOTE 3)
- Whisk an egg on a plate and coat the floured chicken cutlets with the egg. Again both sides.
- Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese and the finely chopped sage. Transfer the egged chicken cutlets to the bread crumbs mix and coat on both sides. Make sure all the egg is covered.
- Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a skillet, over medium-high heat. Place both chicken cutlets in the skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides. This is a 3-4 minutes per side. Move the chicken to a wire rack and allow to rest a few minutes. (NOTE 4)
Make the Butter Lettuce Salad
- Pull the lettuce leaves of the head, take out the core and wash and dry the leaves.
- Slice the avocado and the cucumber in bite-size pieces.
- Make the dressing by mixing olive oil with red wine vinegar, mustard and salt & pepper.
- Place lettuce leaves, avocado and cucumber slices in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing and mix. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives.
- Place the chicken Milanese on a plate and dress with the butter lettuce salad.
Notes
- If you cannot find chicken cutlets, make them by slicing boneless, skinless chicken breasts fillets horizontally, so you end up with two thin cutlets (about 1/4 inch thick). Cover the chicken with plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken out until it is about 1/4-inch thick.
- Most recipes will call for a neutral oil or vegetable oil when frying, but olive oil is perfectly fine. In general, you need an oil with a relatively high smoke point. The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which the oil starts to smoke – you can see it. This means the oil starts to break down and that’s not a good thing.
A high smoke point means that the oil can take high temperature before it starts breaking down, before it starts smoking. Oils with high smoke points are: avocado oil, peanut oil, canola oil. - Alternatively, you can rub the cutlets with salt & pepper and then cover both sides with flour.
- The chicken is safe to consume when it has reached 165 degrees F, this means that you can take it off the heat around 155 degrees as it continues to cook while it rests.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.