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A perfectly breaded pork chop, cutlet of veal, or fried chicken leg starts with the right preparation and ends in a hot frying pan. Your goal is ensure that a thin layer of crispy breading adheres to your meat after it is cooked. Avoid trouble spots such as bland taste, greasy coatings and separation of ingredients by setting yourself up for success before you bread meat.
Steps
Classic Breaded Cutlets
Dishes such as chicken-fried steak, veal cutlets and Chicken Parmesan require you to pound boneless meat into thin, uniform slices before adding the meat breading. This ensures quick cooking and a large surface area for maximum crispy coating.
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1Flatten meat into cutlets using a tenderizing utensil. Follow recipe specifications, which usually call for half-inch or thinner pieces of meat.
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2Pour flour into a pie pan.Advertisement
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3Beat eggs in a shallow bowl big enough to hold 1 cutlet.
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4Place breadcrumbs in another pie pan, if your recipe calls for them.
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5Dredge cutlets, 1 at a time, first in flour, then in eggs and then in either flour or breadcrumbs, to bread meat according to your recipe.
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6Set each breaded cutlet aside on a plate or rack, allowing them to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.
Breading Chops and Chicken Pieces
Whole pieces of chicken and pork, with or without the bone, need more rigorous preparation and longer cooking time. Because these dishes usually don’t rely on a sauce for extra flavor, bread meat chops and pieces with seasoned crumbs.
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1Season either the flour or the breadcrumbs as per your recipe. Common seasonings for fried chicken or meat breading for pork chops include salt; black pepper; dried thyme, marjoram, basil and paprika; and garlic powder.
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2Place flour in a pie pan or paper bag.
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3Beat eggs in a shallow bowl large enough to fit all your meat pieces. Some fried chicken recipes suggest adding milk or water to eggs and allowing the meat to soak in this mixture for 5 to 10 minutes.
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4Pour breadcrumbs into another pie pan, for pork or oven-fried chicken.
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5Dredge chops or chicken in the pan of flour or shake them in a bag to make sure they’re well coated.
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6Dip your meat in the eggs and then dredge it again in either the flour or seasoned breadcrumbs specified by your recipe. Use your hands to press the coating onto the meat flesh or skin.
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7Let the chops or chicken rest so the meat breading starts to solidify before cooking.
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8Finished.
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhich works best to season meat properly?GrowingNanaCommunity AnswerBoth can work, just add the desired seasonings such as salt, pepper, and/or garlic into the flour or the bread crumbs.
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QuestionCan I bread cutlets the night before I fry them? If so, how do I store them?GrowingNanaCommunity AnswerStore them in a sealed airtight container in the fridge, wrapped in towels to keep the bread from becoming soggy.
Warnings
- Heat your cooking oil to a high enough temperature to cause immediate sizzling when you drop in the breaded meat. This will keep the breading in place and make it crispy.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Don’t leave any bald spots on breaded cutlets, which produces a spotty texture that absorbs more oil and encourages slabs of breading to fall off while cooking.⧼thumbs_response⧽
Things You'll Need
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Breadcrumbs
- Salt, pepper and other seasonings
- Pie pan
- Shallow dish or paper bag
- Mallet or other meat-flattening tool (Classic Breaded Cutlets)