Classic Chicken Parm
Skinless, boneless chicken thighs, breaded and fried into a crisp, golden brown cutlet, topped with a rich tomato sauce, parmigiano-reggiano and grated mozzarella, baked and then a quick turn under the broiler to finish the cheese, makes a dish that's super easy and always a pleaser.
Equipment
- meat hammer, baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs - skinless and boneless
- salt and pepper - to taste
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups bread crumbs - panko or I like Progresso Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup olive oil - for frying
- 1 cup tomato sauce - either my recipe here, or your favorite bottled sauce
- ½ cup parmigiano-reggiano - grated
- ½ cup mozzarella - grated
- ¼ cup provolone - grated
- ¼ cup fresh basil - chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450° F (230° C)
- Put each thigh on a cutting board between two sheets of heavy plastic wrap and pound them into ¼" thick cutlets. Pound one side then flip and finish pounding the other side. Lift the wrap and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Re-wrap and set aside.
- Put the flour on a dinner plate.
- Mix the parmagiano-reggiano with the bread crumbs on a dinner plate and set aside.
- Lightly beat eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside.
- Pat dry each cutlet, dredge in the flour until completely coating both sides. This dries the surface so the breading will stick.
- Dip flour coated cutlets into the beaten eggs. Transfer them to the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the crumbs into both sides. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Cook chicken until golden, about two minutes each side. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.
- Place chicken in a baking dish or pan top with ¼ cup of the sauce. Layer each cutlet with equal amounts of mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and provolone cheese. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoon of the parmagiana-reggiano on top and drizzle with the olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is brown and bubbly and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165°, 15 to 20 minutes.
- If the chicken seem done, but the cheese isn't browned enough, a minute under the broiler should give it that slight cheese char.