I was inspired by a recipe found in Cook’s Illustrated, and with a few revisions, made Chicken Kiev for the first time and LOVED it! It was so incredibly juicy inside and the homemade bread crumbs are the perfect touch. Chicken Kiev is made with breaded chicken cutlets that are stuffed with herbs and butter. The melted butter spreads across the plate and instantly forms a buttery sauce for this dish. Can you say…Delicious!
Chicken Kiev
Serves 4
Herb Butter
- 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted, sweet butter, softened
- 1/4 cup of fresh parsley and fresh tarragon, finely minced
- 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
Directions: Mix all ingredients, blending together. Place butter on a sheet of Saran wrap and form a 1″ roll, wrap tight and place in refrigerator for 1 hour, or freezer for 15 minutes
Home Made Bread Crumbs
- 5 slices of peasant bread, or other white bread, lightly toasted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Preheat over 300 degrees.
- Toast bread slices until lightly toasted
- Cut slices in 1/4 ” cubes
- In batches of 3 or 4, place cubes in blender and pulse until coarsely ground.
- Place all bread crumbs on a baking sheet, add salt, pepper and olive oil
- Using hands, toss together, coating bread crumbs
- Adjust oven rack to middle position, bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool – about 5 minutes
- You should have about 2 cups of breadcrumbs
Chicken
- 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded to a 1/4 inch thickness (I ask my butcher to prep this for me)
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups of bread crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 – 1 cup all purpose flour (start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Directions:
- Place thin chicken cutlets on a sheet of wax paper
- Season with salt and pepper to both sides of chicken
- Unwrap butter and slice into 1/2″ rounds
- Place 1-2 rounds of butter on the bottom half of each chicken breast
- Roll the bottom edge of the chicken over the butter, then continue to firmly roll to the top, pushing edges together to seal
- Repeat with all pieces of chicken
- Place on a plate and place uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 hour
- Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place three bowls out and add flour with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in one; season bread crumbs with salt and pepper in another, and 3 eggs and mustard, whisked together in the third.
- Dredge rolled chicken in flour, shaking off excess – coat with egg mixture, shake off excess, and roll in bread crumbs, thoroughly covering all sides of rolled chicken
- Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Add chicken on top of the wire rack and place into oven, cooking for 45 minutes until chicken is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes and serve.
