Chicken Schnitzel

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• peanut, canola, or other neutral oil

Method

Brine the chicken first. Dissolve 100g kosher salt in 950ml cold water, submerge the breasts, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The salt denatures the muscle proteins, allowing them to retain moisture during the high heat of frying — without it, the meat dries out in seconds. If you skip this step, you'll have a crisp coating around a chalky centre.

Remove the chicken and pat it completely dry with kitchen paper; any surface moisture will steam and prevent the batter-coating from adhering properly. Lay each breast on the work surface and butterfly it horizontally into two thinner pieces, or if they're thin already, proceed to pounding. Place each piece between two sheets of cling film and pound with a rolling pin or meat mallet until the cutlet is an even 6mm thick. Uneven thickness guarantees hot spots that brown before cooler zones cook through.

Set up your breading station: flour in one shallow bowl, beaten eggs in another, panko in a third. Working one cutlet at a time, coat it lightly in flour, shake off excess, dip it into egg so both sides are wet, then press it firmly into the panko, patting gently so the breadcrumbs adhere without compacting. Lay the finished cutlets on a wire rack — not a plate, which traps moisture underneath — while you finish the rest.

Heat 5–8mm of neutral oil (peanut, canola, or vegetable) in a cast-iron pan to 190°C. The oil should shimmer and a breadcrumb dropped in should sizzle immediately and turn golden in 15 seconds. Fry two or three cutlets at a time without crowding; overcrowding drops the oil temperature and produces grease-soaked results. Turn the cutlets every 90 seconds or so until the exterior is deep golden and crisp all over — this takes roughly 3 minutes total. The deep-frying is fast because the thin, even cutlet cooks through whilst the crust forms.

Transfer each batch to a fresh wire rack, salt generously whilst still hot, and hold in a warm place. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, acid cutting the richness, and coleslaw for textural contrast.