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Chicken Kiev
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Origin can be traced to the Ukrainian city of Kiev. Long before Moscow became the Russian capital, Kiev served as the major center of trade and culture. This chicken recipe probably originated in San Francisco early 1900's. Plan on one chicken breast per person as one of the features of this special chicken dish is that the cutlets will release a spurt of hot, rich butter, sometimes catching the diner unawares. Deep-fat frying them generally assures that the butter will stay in the center during the cooking. If they are sauteed it may leak out a bit during the cooking process, but It tastes fabulous no matter what! I generally prefer sauteing over deep fat frying but you get to choose your method!
4 medium sized chicken breasts, skinned and boned
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 - 2 teaspoons freshly chopped chives
1 teaspoon freshly chopped tarragon
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
Dijon-style mustard
1/2 flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 or more fine dry bread crumbs
vegetable oil for deep frying
Cream the softened butter with the chopped herbs. Blend in the lemon juice. Shape the butter into 4 rolls. (Long enough to be placed lengthwise on the chicken pieces without extending over the edge of the meat, and leaving a 1 inch border.) Place the rolls of butter in the refrigerator to chill until firm. Meanwhile, with flat meat pounder, work each chicken breast until thin and flat, about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick, being careful not to tear the meat. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken.
Spread each fillet with a thin layer of the mustard. Place a roll of chilled butter lengthwise along each piece. Tuck in the ends of the fillets and roll them up, making sure that the butter is completely enclosed within the chicken packet. Dredge each fillet in flour, dip into the beaten eggs, and then into the dry bread crumbs, so that it is completely coated. Adjust the fillets into uniform ovals. Heat the vegetable oil to 360 - 365 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or heavy bottomed deep saucepan to a depth of about 2 - 3 inches. Carefully immerse the chicken in the hot oil. Do not crowd them. Fry the fillets for 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately. If they must be held until the remaining ones are fried, place them in a warm oven for no more than 5 minutes.
Or, instead of deep frying, they could simply be fried in a frying pan over medium-high heat in a mixture of 4 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil. Cook the fillets for about 5 minutes on each side, but do not puncture them.
Recipe created 1996-06-24.
