Israelis are famously particular about their food, and crispy schnitzel is no exception. The ideal Israeli schnitzel is simply seasoned, crispy on the outside, and tender inside. Unlike Viennese schnitzel made with non-kosher meat, the Israeli version uses chicken breast and is a staple of everyday Israeli lunches (which is the main meal).
Thickness
You need to make sure that 2 conditions are met:
- The cutlets are no thicker than 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch.
- Each cutlet is mostly even in its thickness.
Ingredient Ratio
For the ingredient ratio to prevent waste, follow the link.
You don’t have to follow this. You can just pour the amount of breadcrumbs you’d like to intuitively into a pan. It’s up to you.
Tips
- Cool the cutlets on a cooling rack.
- Do not use paper towels.
- They sometimes end up sticking to the schnitzel.
- They also absorb the steam omitted from the schnitzel and will get the schnitzel soggy and lose crispiness.
- If you have a kitchen thermometer, 172 F / 78 C is the perfect temperature/degree of preparedness of chicken.
- When they are extra-thin (1/4-inch), they should be served right after frying them, or they will harden.
- You can deep-fry them, or use 1/4 cup of oil at a time.
- Fry them in neutral oil (sesame, canola, cotton, grapeseed)
- If the oil has a lot of bread crumbs in it, you can lift the skillet with one hand as your other hand scoops them out with a spoon. Preferably do this above a tin, metal, or glass bowl, and not a plastic bowl so it doesn’t melt.
- I don’t bother to rid the oil of the crumbs, unless I was inattentive and they started to burn.
What to Pair with Israeli Schnitzel
Israeli salads: tomato, cucumber, green salad with cranberries
Rice: White, with mushrooms, yellow rice with peas
Cabbage salad – pickled white cabbage – easy
Or you can stuff it in a bun with ketchup or mustard with pickled cabbage/sauerkraut.
Enjoy!
Crispy Tender Chicken Breast Schnitzel
Schnitzel Crispy Tender - Tips on how to prepare crispy, tender fried Schnitzel.
Tools
- 1 to 2 non-stick / cast iron frying pan
- Parchment paper
- 1 flat pan for breadcrumbs
- 1 large bowl / flat pan for egg with chicken
- 1 fork for flipping cutlets
Instructions
- So, How do you end up with crispy fluffy fried breaded chicken breasts?
- Get/Slice Thin Raw Chicken Breast Cutlets
- Pound if too thick. 1/3 inch can be pounded a bit. It's best not to pound 1/4 inch. It's thin enough.
- Dry the cutlets in paper towel, so egg will stick.
- Golden Breadcrumbs
- Use panko breadcrumbs to increase chances of non-soggy results.
- Oil (Canola/Grapeseed/Coconut - if its aroma is okay for you)
- Use extremely hot oil, but not burning (smoking is a sign it has reached its burning point); and
- Make sure the oil is hot every time you add a new batch.
- Use a non-stick / cast iron skillet.
- Don't pack the skillet with cutlets (to save time). The Reasons:
- The more cutlets you add, the more you are reducing the heat of the oil, which is what we DON'T want to happen.
- When the oil is not hot enough, some water won't evaporate. It will be extracted into the oil.
- Water in oil causes the cutlets to become SOGGY. So, we'd have to forget about crispy schnitzel cutlets. So keep the oil hot.
- Cooling on Rack
- Place the fried breaded chicken cutlets to on rack (above parchment paper/tin-foil/a pan), and not in paper towels.
- Placing the fried schnitzels in paper towels just traps the steam and will moisten the fried chicken - again, soggy cutlet.