Chicken Kiev

This is one of those recipes that I have never made, I make my husband do it. My excuse is that he served a mission for our church in Kiev, Ukraine, so of course he should be an expert! Except that fact that he probably did  not eat or make Chicken Kiev in Kiev. Regardless, it does not look very hard to make, but it seems fancy and will impress everyone.

Do not be frightened by the amount of butter in it, butter makes everything better, right? This another recipe from the great Alton Brown from Food Network.

Chicken Kiev

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning chicken
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko), plus 1/4 cup for filling
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Combine butter, parsley, tarragon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer.

Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.

Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/4 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.

Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups bread crumbs in a different pie pan.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F.

Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.