Hugo's Chicken

This recipe came to me by way of my nephew's mother in law, Cherrie, who was once a postal carrier. On her route she delivered mail to a little old man who, on occasion, would invite her in for lunch. On the days that they dined together Hugo would make her paper thin, pan fried chicken cutlets. Cherrie has long since retired from her postal service career but the memory of her friend lives on through his chicken. I never had the pleasure of meeting Hugo or having him cook for me but sometime during their friendship he shared his secrets with Cherrie. This recipe is a family favorite, and will fast become one of your family's as well.



Here is what you will need:

(Because I have a tendency to 'eyeball it' as always, all measurements are approximate)

2-3 chicken breasts
2 cups Panko Bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh grated Romano
2 tablespoons Italian herbs/spices (basil, oregano)
1 egg
1/2 cup Olive oil
Splash milk or cream
salt and pepper


I'm going to build and assembly line. Lets first start with the breading mix. The secret here is in the cheese and isn't that always the way?

You will want to blitz the cheese so throw both the Parmesan and the Romano into your food processor


and give it a few pulses.

Put your bread crumbs in a shallow dish, add your dried herbs and salt and pepper. As you can see here I am cutting corners and using an Italian style bread crumb which already has the herbs in it.

Now combine the cheese and the bread crumbs and mix together.

In a separate dish whisk together cream and egg. Set aside.

Now for the chicken. Ready to get your hands dirty? Lets go:

Trim away the fatty pieces and cut the breasts in half making thin cutlets.

To make sure I get the breasts as thin as possible I cover the trimmed breasts with cling wrap and gently pound with the flat side of a meat mallet. Once the chicken is prepared, its time for a bath.

Dip the chicken in the egg wash. Make sure it gets a good dunk.

Now for a roll in the hay, er, bread crumbs. Thoroughly cover the chicken with breadcrumbs and place on a clean plate. If you are using regular bread crumbs I recommend doing a double dip in the egg and then back in the breadcrumbs. However, this isn't necessary with panko. They're good and crispy in just one coat.

Continue until all of the chicken is breaded and ready to be cooked.

In a large skillet add your olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, drop the cutlets in the pan. Wait just a few minutes and flip.

Because they are so thin they will cook quickly. So keep and eye on it. Once the chicken in firm to the touch and your breading has browned on both sides remove the chicken from the pan and place on a serving dish lined with a paper towel (to soak up and excess oil).

To ensure you are fully enticed by the goodness that lies within lets have a closer look shall we?

Those little golden brown bits of cheese are calling your name.

But this is my plate, so you're just going to have to make your own. Yum!