Every Sueiro kid knows Grandma’s crunchy chicken. Forget the nuggets and the Colonel, this is the only way we wanted our chicken fried. It kinda still is.
Back in the day, mom made it with Italian herbed breadcrumbs from a cardboard can. When she moved to California, she discovered Panko, which raised the crunch level to new heights without the heavy, greasy fried bits that would regularly break off.
Back in the day she also used this method to make ‘pink chicken’ —sliced, boiled beef tongue. Do not recommend. But the actual chicken version? 10 out of 10 comfort food to this day.
Crunchy Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast fillets pounded thin
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
Mashed Potatoes
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes All equal size
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 pound butter
Instructions
- Pound and/or cut the chicken into thin fillets roughly 2×4 inches
- Beat the eggs with salt
- Dip each fillet in flour, shake it off, then dip in egg, then dip in panko.
- In a large frying pan, add vegetable oil and heat on medium.
- Make sure the oil is hot. Add each piece of chicken and fry on both sides until golden. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Salt and serve with mashed potatoes.
Mashed potatoes
- Peel and cut potatoes lengthwise into quarters, ideally all the same size. Set in a pot of cold, salted water.
- Set the pot to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender, 15-20 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
- While potatoes are cooking, warm milk with the butter until melted. Do not allow to boil.
- Use a masher to mash the potatoes, adding milk/butter mixture as you go until you reach your ideal consistency. Salt to taste.