For some reason I’ve never been a big fan of chicken.  Maybe I’ll eat a chicken tender here or there, but usually I’ll always pick a vegetarian option over a chicken sandwich or chicken cutlet.  All of that changed last Friday night when I tasted Matt’s version of these perfect, amazing, tender, and flavorful chicken cutlets.  These cutlets were melt-in-your-mouth delicious and I could have eaten every one of them except that I was going out of town the next day and Matt insisted on saving some for his lunch and dinner while I was gone.  🙂

I think what I liked most about these cutlets was that they were extremely tender, moist, and thin.  We ate our cutlets sandwich-style with melted Havarti cheese and roasted red peppers and to me the chicken seemed as delicate and delectable as the soft bun and juicy peppers.  These cutlets are DEFINITELY going into our standard dinner rotation!

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

You will need…
1 1/4 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (approx. 3 half breasts)
5 egg whites, whisked together in a large bowl (discard the yolks)
1 1/2 cups Breadcrumbs with Italian Seasoning
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to Taste
Olive Oil
1/2 Lemon

Directions:
Cut the chicken breasts into thirds so that you have 8-9 square-ish pieces of chicken.  One at a time, cover each piece of chicken with plastic wrap and flatten by hammering it with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer.  Repeat for all chicken cutlets and set aside.

Combine the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl and mix together.  Dip one chicken cutlet in the egg white mixture and make sure it gets completely coated (this is a messy, hands-on job!).  Allow the excess egg white to drip off then dredge the cutlet in your breadcrumb mixture, again making sure to coat all sides and edges.  Repeat the egg white dip and breadcrumb dredge a second time and then set that cutlet aside.  Repeat the entire double-dipping process with the rest of your chicken cutlets.

Heat a large flat-sided pan over medium high heat and add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan).  The oil is hot enough when a drop of water sizzles and pops.  Carefully place four of your cutlets into the pan and allow them to cook undisturbed until the bottom is golden brown.  Flip the cutlets over and allow the other side to cook until golden brown.  Remove the cutlets from the pan and set aside on a clean plate.  (For peace of mind, you might want to cut open the fattest of the cutlets at this point to make sure it is cooked through!)  Repeat the cooking process with your remaining cutlets.

Once you are done cooking all of the cutlets, spread them out on a plate or (clean) cutting board and squeeze the lemon juice over them evenly.  This will give that garlicky breading a nice fresh “pop” of flavor.

How can you serve your cutlets?

• The easy way – simply eat them plain with a knife and a fork (you probably won’t even need the knife because they are super tender!)
• The sandwiched way – melt cheese on your cutlets in the oven and serve on a toasted bun with roasted red peppers (this is how we ate ours for dinner!)
• The salad way – slice the cutlets into strips or cubes and serve warm over a mixed salad with baby greens, cucumber, red onion, roasted red peppers, and Caesar dressing (this is how Matt ate some of the leftovers)
• The chicken parm way – we didn’t make these, but you could melt some mozzarella on the cutlets and serve with sauce, yum!