FYFrom Yiayia's FridgePrivate cookbook
Cookbook image from PDF page 27

Mains

Chicken Schnitzel

Σνίτσελ κοτόπουλο

Serves 4 peoplePrep 15 minutesCook 25 minutesPDF p. 27

Yiayia’s chicken schnitzel and chips is a family favourite, often hailed as a ‘death row meal’ — the last thing you’d want to eat before you die. This recipe unveils her long-held secret for getting it perfect every time. With starchy oil on hand for extra crispiness and a special spice mix from Footscray Market, you might just come close to the perfection Yiayia has spent years refining.

Main

Ingredients

  • 6 stale white bread rolls
  • 1 bag chicken seasoned flour
  • Sprinkle of oregano
  • 1 chicken breast
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • Vegetable oil (or oil you’ve already
  • used to cook potatoes to get that
  • extra crispiness)

Method

  1. To make the crumbing mixture, cut a bag of stale white bread rolls in half. If you have fresh bread rolls, put them in the oven at 100 degrees until dry, taking care not to burn them
  2. Crush the bread into a fine powder. Yiayia uses a zip-lock bag and a rolling pin, but you could use a food processor. Place the crumbs into a bowl when they’ve been crushed into a medium fine powder
  3. Add in a whole packet of chicken season flavoured flour (you can find this at the Footscray market, or you can buy something similar from Coles) and a sprinkle of oregano to taste
  4. This will make approximately 3 big jars full of the crumbing mixture for future schnitzelling. For this recipe, take only 1 cup of your crumbing mixture and pour it evenly on a large, flat plate
  5. Cut chicken breast into strips from the top of the breast down diagonally
  6. Put 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk, adding a dash of milk
  7. Dip the sliced chicken breast into the egg mixture then into the crumbing mixture. Dip back into the egg mixture and add a 2nd layer of crumbing to the top. This achieves the famous crunchy, thick batter for the schnitzels
  8. In a frying pan, add in enough oil to cover the base of the pan. Probably more than you think
  9. Heat the pan over a medium high heat and when the oil is hot, add in your breaded chicken strips. Don’t overcrowd the pan because it doesn’t let the oil get hot enough for the chicken to go extra crispy
  10. When the chicken is golden brown on 1 side, flip over and brown on the other
  11. Serve them quickly, before everyone eats them from the pan