Chicken Parmigiana
Shatteringly crisp breaded cutlets under a thin blanket of sauce and mozzarella, grilled just long enough to melt without steaming the crust. The trick is baking the cheese on top rather than drowning the chicken.
Photograph credit: Chicken Kiev Parmigiana by Angusd84 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Sogginess comes from steam trapped between sauce and crust. Saucing only the centre of the cutlet leaves a crisp rim, and finishing under a hot grill for 3 minutes melts the mozzarella before moisture can migrate down into the breadcrumbs.
How to Make Chicken Parmigiana
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Season the pounded cutlets on both sides and leave for 10 minutes so the salt can penetrate.
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Set up three trays: flour, beaten egg, and panko mixed with the Parmigiano and oregano.
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Coat each cutlet in flour, shaking off the excess, then egg, letting the surplus drip away, then press firmly into the panko on both sides. Rest the breaded cutlets on a rack for 10 minutes to set the crust.
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Heat the olive oil in a wide pan to 175°C / 350°F. Fry two cutlets at a time for 3 minutes per side until deep gold, then drain on a rack — never on paper, which steams the underside soft.
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Heat the grill to high. Arrange the cutlets on a baking sheet and spoon 3 tablespoons of warm sauce down the centre of each, leaving a crisp border exposed.
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Top with torn mozzarella and a dusting of Parmigiano. Grill 12 cm from the element for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese blisters and browns in spots.
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Finish with fresh basil and serve immediately.
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Tips That Matter
- Pound to an even 1 cm. Uneven cutlets either dry out at the thin end or stay raw at the thick one.
- Rest the breaded cutlets before frying — it glues the crumb on so it does not slide off in the pan.
- Grate your own mozzarella from a block. Pre-shredded cheese has starch on it that browns unevenly.
Changing the Recipe
- Panko gives the crunchiest crust here, but ordinary dried breadcrumbs will still fry crisp if that's what's in the cupboard.
- Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.
What to Serve With It
Chianti Classico or a Sangiovese blend · Spaghetti with garlic and oil, or a simple rocket salad · Tiramisu for a full Italian-American spread
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Focaccia Genovese, Rosemary Focaccia, Tuscan Panzanella.
Storage
Refrigerate for 3 days. Reheat in a 190°C / 375°F oven on a rack for 12 minutes to bring the crust back; the microwave will ruin it.
Nutrition per Serving
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.
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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 .