Chicken Milanese
Chicken breast beaten thin, breaded and fried in butter until the crust is deep gold. Milanese in method, and the thinness is the entire technique — a thick cutlet steams rather than fries.
Photograph credit: Chicken Milanese, Linguine with Snap Peas, Salad by Jeffrey_Allen · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chicken Milanese, Step by Step
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Butterfly each breast and open it out, then lay it between two sheets of cling film.
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Pound with a rolling pin from the centre outwards until an even 5 mm thick. Work steadily — hammering tears the meat.
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Season the flour with half the salt and pepper. Mix the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan and the rest.
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Coat each cutlet in flour, then egg, then press firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides.
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Rest the breaded cutlets on a rack for 15 minutes so the coating sets and will not slide off.
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Heat the clarified butter and olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat until shimmering.
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Fry one or two cutlets at a time for 3 minutes until deep gold, then turn and fry 2 minutes more.
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Drain on a rack, never on paper, and salt lightly while hot.
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Serve immediately with lemon and a rocket salad piled on top.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Small Things That Help
- Even thickness beats thinness. A cutlet thin at one end and thick at the other cooks two different ways.
- Rest after breading. Fifteen minutes is the difference between a crust that stays on and one that peels.
- A rack, not kitchen paper — paper traps steam and softens the underside immediately.
What to Serve with Chicken Milanese
- A rocket and tomato salad
- A crisp Italian white such as Soave
- Lemon, and nothing more elaborate
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Rosemary Focaccia, Ciabatta, Fave e Cicoria.
Storing & Reheating Chicken Milanese
Best fresh. Refrigerate up to 2 days and re-crisp at 200°C / 390°F for 8 minutes.
Chicken Milanese FAQ: Common Questions
How long does Chicken Milanese take to make?
15 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 15 minutes of resting, so allow 45 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 4.
Chicken Milanese Nutrition
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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