Food
chicken schnitzel recipe and a "Natural Ginger Soda" challenge...
In response to my last post, Prince of Darkness and Vogue covergirl Charlie Fox dmed me “Please write about food, Zo Dub.” Ok!
Charlie and I once spent a memorable evening in southeast London making a pecan pie, drinking "Dark and Stormys” and watching The Sound of Music, which Charlie had NEVER seen before. (At the start of every song he would go “this song is from THIS?” and “THIS ONE TOO??”) I had never made a pecan pie before but Charlie wanted to try it because it “sounded American.” Well Charlie, here is something that I have actually made roughly one million times.
Last night for dinner I made chicken schnitzel with a side salad. I checked in with my dear LA chica, Casey Jane who stays in my NY apartment whenever I go to London. She was feeling fucked up by the fire and asked what she should eat, so I told her to make the schnitzel too. Her review was “made me feel so much better!”
So here is my chicken schnitzel recipe. Note: the side salad is as important as the chicken.
Ingredients:
For chicken:
1 chicken breast per person
Panko or any “Japanese style” bread crumbs
~.5 egg per breast (if you’re just making 2, then use 2 eggs.)
Flour
Neutral oil (canola, or whatever your “anti seed oil” self is into)
Flaky salt
For salad:
Arugula
Mustard (This french one is the best one, but you could use dijon or whole grain)
Herbs (parsley non-negotiable. then if you’re feeling fancy you can add whatever else you like the taste of. Mint/chives/tarragon.. even basil or cilantro)
Lemons
1 sweet tart apple (Pink Lady, Macoun)
Rice/ white wine/ champagne/ apple cider vinegar (whatever you have. I like rice)
Pepper
Butterfly the chicken breasts, lightly salt them, then, place one on a cutting board and lay a piece of saran wrap/clingfilm over it. Bang it with the flat end of a meat tenderizer. If you don’t have one (I don’t) use anything flat and heavy. Yesterday I used a small copper pot. It wasn’t ideal but it got the job done. You want to get the chicken breast as flat as possible without turning it into a mushy gum. 1/8th inch thick is ideal, but if it’s thicker it doesn’t matter.
If you’re making more than two pieces I recommend turning the oven to its lowest setting and lining a baking tray with foil to keep the cooked cutlets warm as the next ones cook.
Bread the cutlets:
Crack eggs into a shallow bowl or plate and whisk well. Fill another shallow bowl with some flour and a bit of black pepper and a third with the Panko breadcrumbs. Submerge the chicken in the flour and coat completely, shake off the excess, dip into the egg mixture, and then into the breadcrumbs. Repeat with each. I just let the last one hang out in the previous step until it’s time to fry.
Cooking
Heat ~2 inches worth of oil in a skillet or frying pan. Medium heat should do it. Wet your fingers and flick a little water into the pan. When the water sizzles it’s ready. Carefully sloooowly lower a cutlet into the oil. If it starts spitting and crackling like CRAZY maybe turn the heat down a bit. You want the inside to cook at the same time as the crust, and if it’s too hot the crust will burn. Remember, if they’re thin they’ll cook quicker, so each side should cook in about 3 minutes, but if you didn’t whack them enough it may take longer. I like to use a spatula and a set of tongs to flip, so I dont splash oil into my face and become a burn victim. Sprinkle the finished ones with some Maldon salt or regular salt, and then place them on a paper towel lined plate or into the oven incubating tray. (If you need more guidance you can look at our girl Melissa Clark’s pork schnitzel video.)
Salad
While the cutlets cook make the salad. In a small bowl whisk together a spoonful of mustard (to taste, I just whack in a forkful) a squeeze of half a lemon, and a small amount of vinegar. Whisk in the same amount of olive oil as the rest of the ingredients. Or a bit more. Taste the dressing using a piece of lettuce. It should taste ZINGY, but remember the dressing needs to cut through the salty fattiness of the chicken. If you’re feeling fancy you can grate in some garlic or chop up an anchovy but it doesn’t need it. At Fischer’s they serve the schnitzel with anchovies on top. That’s good but I don’t need it at home.
Dump some arugula aka rocket in a bowl. Julienne or thinly slice an apple with the skin on and mix in. Coarsely chop your herbs and mix in. Dress the salad right before you’re ready to eat.
To serve:
Plate the salad with the schnitzel and a bunch of pieces of lemon. Squeeze the lemon on each bite, not over the whole thing, so it’s still extra crispy. Get the appley salad bits in your bite. Also– last night I ate this with a dry apple cider. It was delicious. Would also be good with a german weissbier or a glass of white wine. No Guinness foxy.
One last thing:
I’m currently experimenting with something called a “Ginger Bug” mother which is a way of making fermented soda from scratch. The ultimate BDS sodastream. It takes 5 days to make your own “bug” and then 2-3 days to carbonate whatever juice or sugary tea you want and mine is ready to go. I’m currently on day 2 of fermenting my own gingerbeer, and a making soda from a weird cherry pomegranate juice Will wanted. Good “Dry January” activity if you’re “Dry.” Shoutout to Laszlo who I had a gingerbeer with at Walker’s and the waitress said “ugh welcome to dry January.”
I used this nice canadian guy’s recipe, and then his gingerbeer recipe. This lady’s blog also very promising, and includes a hibiscus soda.
Next time should I do the secret recipe for the Szechuan peppercorn roast chicken that makes me friends and fans all around the world? Or my grandmother’s recipe for jewish chicken soup??