Nov. 26, 2013 - You may have noticed I've been trying to revamp some of my food photos, and where needed, provide updates to the recipes where I have honed them over time. No worries, this recipe is still pretty much the same, it just got a face lift!
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I used to love breaded chicken cutlets before I went Paleo. I would eat them cold or hot. I don't see a reason why I have to give them up. Just swap out the bread crumbs with some protein-rich almond flour and... voilà!
The first time around I tried this, I used to dip the chicken in egg first, then the almond flour. I realized the egg is not necessary as the chicken is moist enough for the almond flour to stick all on its own. This cut down the time it takes to make this meal by a lot.
I prefer to use the thin-sliced chicken breast, but the thicker cut will work. You may want to pound thicker cutlets a little flatter, though and note they will take longer to cook through. The almond flour you use can be blanched or unblanched - it makes no difference. I actually prefer the unblanched because the speckled appearance reminds me more of real breadcrumbs. But taste-wise, makes no matter. I posted my recipe for Italian seasoned bread crumbs to help you take the guesswork out of the seasoning.
Just remember to season your almond flour BEFORE you bread the chicken with it! Otherwise, the chicken may not have as much taste as you might like.
Ingredients
- 1 package thin-sliced chicken cutlets (about 5)
- 1 cup Italian seasoned "bread" crumbs (almond flour)
- Clarified butter (or substitute extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil) for frying
1. Spread the cup of seasoned almond flour in a large shallow dish. Dip each cutlet in the almond flour to coat both sides and set aside on a plate.
2. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of the butter (or oil) in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat.
3. Fry the cutlets in batches for a few minutes on each side until the almond flour is browned and chicken is cooked through. Add more butter/oil to the pan as needed.
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| This was the old food photo back from the original post on Facebook. Blech! |
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| aaaaaah much better |
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| Mmmm... photography |
Pete gave me the link to your site and i'm looking forward to trying this recipe
ReplyDeleteGreat, hope you love it!
DeleteI would recommend frying in coconut oil. Its very healthy and has a higher smoke point. Olive oil really should never be used in cooking (you can sprinkle over foods afterwards).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! It's probably the Italian roots in me, but I love the taste of olive oil and use it in a lot of my dishes. I've never had an issue with smoke point or break down in taste. I agree with you that coconut oil is super-healthy and there are some foods I prefer to use it with as a perfect blend of flavors (especially with my fried plantains recipe). Yum!
DeleteI made this last night. Worked great. I used one tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan. More seemed like overkill.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe. Esp the tip about no egg. It was a hit last night. xo
ReplyDeleteFOR THE WIN!
DeleteI used veal cutlets instead of chicken, no egg, and combined blanched and unblanched almond flour and your italian seasoning recipe. Used non-stick pan and olive oil. They tasted great but a lot of coating came off in the pan as I turned them. Do you know why?
ReplyDeleteHi Ann,
DeleteI'm sorry to hear that. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I can make a few guesses.
- I've never fried veal, but perhaps it is less moist than chicken making it more difficult for the flour to stick?
- Perhaps the coating was too thick and clumped off in the pan? (I use only a light coating of flour.)
- Maybe the heat was too high and dried out the meat so the coating did not stick?
If this was your first time trying the recipe, I'd say try it again with chicken, ensure you lightly coat the cutlets in flour, and keep an eye on the heat to ensure they don't brown too fast and dry out to the point the coating crumbles off. If you can successfully recreate the recipe under the same conditions as me, it may shed some light on what went wrong with your poor veal cutlets.
Thanks for your feedback and good luck!
Best,
Jamie