Break It Down - Chicken Style

Ever been face to face with a box of 30 raw chickens? Think it's smelly? Wrong! Actually, fresh meat, even freshly defrosted meat or poultry should not smell when you are ready to use it. If it smells, that means that it's started growing bacteria and it may not be safe to eat.

Our box of chickens was not smelly and even still had a little ice still in it from the freezer.

Chickens that you buy from the store should come dressed: no, not in a full suit and wingtips... Dressed means that the bird has been cleaned, plucked (no more feathers), eviscerated (no more organs), and drawn (no head or feet).

A handy trick about buying chicken for a group of people is to figure 1lb of chicken per person, bone-in. One person might not eat a whole pound of chicken, but if you buy a 3 lb chicken, there is a good chance that three people can finish it.

Esther handed out a whole chicken to each person so we could practice trussing. Trussing is a technique where you use a string and tie up a chicken or a piece of meat into a more compact and visually appealing package. This also keeps chicken legs and wings from flopping out to the side.

 Demonstrating the "dos equis" (double "X") technique, in which the string is tied in 2 "X" shapes to hold the chicken together.

 Ready to go in the oven!

Classmate Eugenia holding up her chicken
The song this reminds me of: click here

 Classmate Dvasha with her truss

 Classmate Avi holding his chicken:

 Chef preparing to split a chicken in half...

 ...and he's done it!

My split chicken

 Then we cut the half into a breast piece and a leg:

 When you cut through chicken, it is important to cut through cartilage and not bone. You'll know that you did it right if you see this:

 White means you cut through cartilage, and if you see red (bone marrow) you cut through the bone and you run the risk of damaging your knife in the future.
Here, the trussed chickens are roasted with some mirepoix (carrotsonioncelery)

 Below, chef trimming some chickens, and chicken parts laid out on trays.

We used fat trimmings and chicken skin to render for schmaltz (chicken fat).
A fun chicken song: Chicken Fat

 Above and below: using a blowtorch to burn off remaining feathers or surface impurities.

 Classmate Menachem working on a batch of honey soy glazed chicken wings

 Finished chicken wings:

 So juicy!
Below is my ingredient setup for an arugula salad with muddled strawberry vinaigrette.

Chef begins to demonstrate how to make chicken Milanese, a butterflied, pounded chicken breast dredged in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, and fried for a few minutes. This is a quick dish once you have your oven preheated and everything laid out.

Dredging in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.

The cutlet is fried on a skillet for about 3 minutes and then finished in the oven for 6 minutes.

 Below, chef's plate.

 Below, my plate:
The table of everyone's Milanese plates:

 One little recipe chef threw in at the end are chicken lollipops:

 This cut of the chicken is made from the drummette and the bone is shaved down to make a little handle. It is finished cooking in the oven with some bbq sauce for an excellent appetizer.

------
Chicken Milanese (Schnitzel)

2 chicken breasts, boneless skinless
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley or 1/2 tsp dried
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
5 oz olive oil for frying

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine salt, flour, pepper, ginger powder, garlic powder in a shallow pan.
Combine eggs and same amount of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ginger powder in a second shallow pan.
Combine panko, parsley, same amount of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ginger powder in a third shallow pan.

Take the chicken breasts, cut through the thickest parts to make a single, even cutlet.
Place the cutlet on a piece of plastic wrap. 
Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and pound with a tenderizer on the flat side to flatten the breast to about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.

Heat a saucepan with the olive oil.
Place the cutlet into the flour with one hand, flip with the same hand, and pat any excess flour mixture off.
With your other hand, place the cutlet into the egg and turn to coat. Then pick up the cutlet with the same hand and place in the breadcrumbs.
With the hand you used first, turn the cutlet to coat and place directly into a hot skillet with olive oil. 
Brown the cutlet on one side until golden brown.
Flip, and place the pan directly into a 350 oven to finish for 6 minutes.
Remove from oven, slice, and serve with salad.

Enjoy!