Schnitzel: Israeli Cutlets
The ultimate comfort food.
In Israel you'll find a wide variety of schnitzel, adapted to adhere to familial or ethnic traditions and tastes. I like mine a bit spicy and add sesame seeds for a subtle nuttiness. I also prefer a coating of bread crumbs, which provide a crisper crust than matzah meal, which is denser and absorbs more oil.The spices here are only a recommendation--it's fun to adjust the herbs to your liking. The smaller tenders make a great snack for kids, and any leftover schnitzel is superb as a day-after sandwich, stuffed into a pita with some salad and a drizzle of tahini.
Ingredients
Serves 3 to 4 (depending on your appetite).1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken or turkey breast (about 6 breasts), split and trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup oil for frying
Directions
Combine the salt, black pepper, bread crumbs, sesame seeds, paprika, garlic powder, and chili powder/cayenne in a Ziploc bag and shake to combine.Transfer to a shallow pie plate or other similar dish. Reserve.
Trim tenders from chicken and reserve. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound lightly with a mallet to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch.
Dredge cutlets and tenders in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet until hot but not smoking.
Working in batches, lay 2 cutlets in pan and fry until underside is golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes.
Flip and fry an additional 2-3 minutes.
Drain on paper towels, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Written by Adeena Sussman is a food writer and chef based in New York. She writes the bimonthly food column "Season to Taste" for Hadassah Magazine.Below is a version White Buffalo Calf Woman makes, who feeds the world creates and makes for all. None have refused this recipe. It is a favorite for anyone who has the pleasure of eating this food. Breaded Chicken can be made more than one way. And one of the most delicious foods, as Adeena Sussman says, "the Ultimate Comfort Food." I have made this with limited ingredients, and always a big hit with any crowd. Often, I have been asked to make a restaurant, but how can we sell our worth, when we can just invite others over to eat with us, as a gift from God, the Oneness of the sacred circle. Sharing is the way of love. Bring this to the next picnic or bring to a neighbor as a gift, for they will be so pleased, they will surely ask you for the recipe.
Ingredients
Chicken Boneless Thigh Pieces (I search out organic, however seek out the best quality you can find. Read your packages, and if the farms are local. Local foods are always fresher and organic maintains that the chickens are taken care of properly, and not is small cages where they cannot run around. Free range chickens are happier chickens blessed by God. Don't forget to bless all your ingredients for their lives are gifted to us, in order that we may continue onward in the world of flesh, the paradise of Earth.)Eggs (Seek non-fertilized eggs, in the event an egg is fertilized, a speck of red blood is inside the egg, throw it out. Fertilized eggs have blood in them and are prohibited by Jewish Kosher Law)
Flour (organic white flour, enough to coat the chicken twice)
Salt (sea salt, large crystalline pieces, as many processed salts are smaller or have coatings upon them to prevent them from sticking together. Read your boxes.)
Pepper (I used cracked fresh pepper, as this offers a wonderful taste, however, this can be left out completely, because it can affect the color, and fine white pepper can be used, to avoid color changes or flecks of black pepper on your breaded meats. Often you can't even recognize it in your breaded part of your Schnitzel.)
Oil to fry chicken (I use coconut oil because it can be used at high temperatures without denaturing the oil. Other oils easily get rancid with cooking at high temperatures. Another oil that is good to use, is peanut oil. Always use organic oils if you can, however if you are on a budget, peanut oil is economical and plentiful in all the markets. Please avoid corn oils, unless organic. Corn oil can also be used at high heats. All other oils should not be used, as these oils become denatured, or act like foreign objects within our blood streams. In other words, it is like eating hydrogenated oils, plainly not good for the body, and these foreign objects which are forms of fat molecules, get trapped within your own fat molecules in the body, and Cancer can set in. Please use organic coconut oils. This may cost you a little bit more, but the flavor and quality of your foods, will be delightful. Do not deep fry, but use plentifully to ensure a good crisp chicken)
Frying Pan (A good frying pan is essential, and don't use anything coated with slippery coatings. these coatings can be chipped off into your foods, more specifically teflon, which and can be deadly for your bodies and trapped inside your colon. It is best to use a good cast iron frying pan, which has been seasoned or oiled with heat. This provide a natural carbon coating, which is non stick for your frying pan. Also, any good steal frying pan will do the job, just use a heavy pan, or make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through via a low oven when done frying or low heated pan to continue cooking. Water and steam can cause problems, so be sure, your lid used, is cracked open and frequently wipe the frying pan lid to avoid any water in your frying. This is especially true for your cast iron pan, as iron will rust with any water, and your foods will not taste good. Always store your finished product in another container, unless you are using a steal frying pan. I usually store my finished product on a plate and allowed to cool, and leave at room temperature for one day covered. You can also store in a plastic container, but be sure, it is a high quality plastic, as all plastics now a days, leak gases into your foods. Plastic containers are labeled with numbers on the bottom. The more you can see through the container, the higher quality of plastics used. Use number 1 if you can, and often water bottles use this high quality plastics, to avoid changes in flavor of the purified waters.)
Directions
This recipe is time consuming, but every bit worth the time. If you make extra, you will have a wonderful left overs that can be used for anything you can think of. But surely good enough, to eat plainly cold as a quick snack or between two pieces of bread for a sandwich. I think, breaded chicken is a favorite, so many ways. This even can be cut into pieces and fried with vegetables as a quick stir fry.I do not wash my chicken parts, as this causes salmonella bacteria, a gram-negative pathogenic bacteria to be spread around. You could dry them with paper towels, however you need be precautionary and dispose of paper towels in the garbage right away. It is best to avoid any contact with anything, but your limited utensils. Cooking at high temperatures insure, that all bacteria is thoroughly cooked. Chicken is high in bacteria content, and children should not handle this foods unless cooked. Also eggs are from chickens and are considered high in bacteria content. Have all participants who are cooking these foods, wash your hands frequently and avoid any contact with surfaces that are not later cleansed with bleach. All uncooked chicken and eggs, should be cleansed and purified with bleach, as this is a high bacteria content. Children under the age of one year, can die when having contact with raw eggs, and some ice creams have raw eggs in them. Please be aware and start with good quality ingredients, to avoid symptoms down the road. And use good hygiene skills and wash your hands regularly.
Use enamel coated bowls if you have them or glass pie pans, as these both will offer you, a smooth surface that is easy to clean after you are done.
Start by creating two shallow bowls to dip one with flour, salt (abundant amount of salt as most will be thrown out with unused flour coating, since the salt crystals are heavier than the flour) and pepper (if used). And in the other bowl the mixed eggs, both yolk and whites. Then bring your chicken right out of your package into the dipping bowls. First dip your chicken into the flour, then back into your egg. Coat both sides, then back into your flour again. This gets messy, but if you use several forks for each batter, it can be controlled.
Make sure your pan is hot, with hot oil waiting to receive your breaded chicken thighs. Fry both sides golden brown. Make sure not to burn your chicken coating. If you like, I have added the finished golden fried onto a baking sheet and continue to heat and cook all the way through, in the oven at low temperatures (around 325 degrees for an additional 30 minutes. Or if you like, when finished with all the chicken frying, bring all browned pieces into the frying pan, and set on top of each other, while you leave at low temperature for an additional half hour on the stove top. Please be sure, your lid is eschewed or slightly open as to not acquire any water upon the chicken. Or watch out for your chicken and if need be rotate the pieces so none will be burned, while lid is upon the batch that is being finished. When finished, let all chicken rest before serving, as this continues to cook and ensures that your chicken is completely done within. Check by cutting one piece open to ensure fully cooked with no blood visible.
Eat your Schnitzel or Breaded Chicken hot or cold. We often eat with rice and a green vegetable on the side, and use left overs the next day. Enjoy, as I know this is always received well by all. Remember to bless your foods before eating, and start with good quality ingredients. An important note, amounts are not added here, and you will have to just add more flour if you need to, but usually you can get a better judgment with each time you make this wonderful food.
All we eat, remember that this is a gift from the Heavens upon the Earth, so it is important that we are grateful, with blessings, before you start, while you are cooking and before you eat your foods. God bless wonderful foods, the gifts from Gods, you and your neighbors. Don't forget to bless, all the hands that made it possible for you to enjoy the wealth of the world, and invite someone to share your foods, when you eat. Eat together, for we are to gather under the house of the beloved children of the Great Spirits in the Heavens. And we, Holiness David and I, always invite the spirit world to eat with us, as we share what we eat together from our plates with Heaven and Earth, the blessings of all.
