Recipe of the Week: Devilled Chicken

In classic French cuisine, a dish that is “devilled” insinuates that it is spicy, usually with mustard. Now, many people that are used to the milder preparations of mustard in North America may not think it is very spicy, but mustard made in the traditional style of Burgundy (home of Dijon) is quite pungent and nose-curling, not surprising as it is the cousin of horseradish. When this mustard is used to season a chicken cutlet before it is breaded and fried, you will have yourself a devilled chicken cutlet.

Devilled Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4                            medium-sized (8 to 10 oz) boneless and skinless chicken breasts
to taste                salt and pepper
1 cup                    flour
4 tbsp                   Burgundy mustard, or equivalent
2                            eggs
2 cups                  breadcrumbs
1 cup                    vegetable oil
1                            lemon, cut into wedges

Method:

1. Slice the chicken breast horizontally into cutlets. For smaller breast one slice is fine, for larger breasts slice them into 3 or 4 cutlets. Your butcher can do this for you as well. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the cutlets and using a heavy pan or a rolling pin, tap the breast a few times to flatten it a bit. The goal is to have a cutlet with even thickness.

2. Lay the breast cutlets out on a work surface and season them with salt and pepper. Dredge each cutlet in a thin layer of flour and place back on the work area.

3. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the mustard. In a second bowl and the breadcrumbs. Finally, have a baking sheet ready to place the breaded cutlets.

4. Going one by one, dip each floured cutlet into the egg and mustard mixture, then add to the breadcrumbs. Press the cutlets into the breadcrumbs to maximize the coating, then place on a clean baking tray. Repeat for the remainder of the cutlets.

5. Heat the oil in a shallow pan over a medium high heat. Once hot, fry the cutlets, turning once, until golden-brown all over - about 5 minutes in total. Transfer to a clean platter and repeat until all the cutlets are fried.  Serve immediately with wedges of lemon.