Chicken help

[LT72884]

Ok three questions here.,

1) this is a dumb question but no matter how hard i try i ant seem to pound the chicken breast to a 1/4 inch thick with just a meat hammer. Any tips for smashing meat would be nice?

2) Simple and very tasty breaded chicken thighs? what is best to use? is shake n bake good or is there any one with some good homemade seasonings for breading chicken and baking it to make it very crsipy?

3) simple stuffed chicken breast and or thighs and flank steak?

thanx guys.

 

[suziquzie]

what kind of hammer do you have?
the first one I had really sucked but I have a heavy kitchen aid one now that could beat anything paper thin.
I also found that beating it on a cutting board acts like a shock absorber, put it on plastic on the counter.
you could use a wrapped up brick....
i gotta find my recipe for the breading, but please dont use shake n bake i may have to shake you!!

 

[suziquzie]

oh yeah duh...
italian style breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese
dip the chick in flour, then some beaten egg w/ a little water, then crumbs.
the breading sticks better if you let them sit awhile before you cook them.

 

[LT72884]

what kind of hammer do you have?
the first one I had really sucked but I have a heavy kitchen aid one now that could beat anything paper thin.
I also found that beating it on a cutting board acts like a shock absorber, put it on plastic on the counter.
you could use a wrapped up brick....
i gotta find my recipe for the breading, but please dont use shake n bake i may have to shake you!!

Ok i wont use shake n bake, but why?

Well my hammer is about 2.5inch x 2.5 inch sqaure and has a flat side and a poky side. I have to pound in a bag because if i dont chicken guts and juice fly every wheres.

 

[Andy M.]

The pounding motion should not be like hammering a nail. Rather, the blows should be glancing. Pound down and to the edge in a sweeping motion to force the meat to spread out.

I sometimes find it easier to beat it up a little with the 'pokey' side first to make it easier to flatten.

Shake and Bake has way too much salt in it for my taste.

 

[suziquzie]

^^^ thats why. TOO salty. I musta used it 1 too many times when I had my 1st apartment. My bf at the time would eat anything......
put it in a bag but leave it open just a little so the air gets out and doesn't cushion the blows.

 

[LT72884]

i feel so stupid for asking such an odd question. I mean how hard can pounding chicken be?

Ok what if i dont want a italian style chicken. would cornflakes be good?

 

[suziquzie]

yeah cornflakes are very good, even crushed rice crispies.
mix in whatever seasonings you like

 

[LT72884]

yeah cornflakes are very good, even crushed rice crispies.
mix in whatever seasonings you like

so to make them ultra crispy by baking i would need to use oil such as olive oil? or do i even need oil?

 

[kitchenelf]

I like to grind up melba toast and then season it with something as simple as salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dip chicken in egg white, dredge in melta toast crumbs, and fry up in a bit of olive oil. Because you have pounded the chicken so think you might not even to finish it in the oven. Just tent for about 5 - 10 minutes and it should be done.

Andy M. described the pounding technique perfectly. Make a slight "sweeping" motion to the outer edges of the chicken breast. I pound a bit harder straight down on the thicker parts and then use the sweeping motion once it's a bit softer.

For stuffed chicken breasts you can use just about anything. Once you have pounded out the chicken first sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil Then you can spread on some goat cheese, layered with fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes or even some pesto. OR, any julienne veggies, spinach, and shrimp. OR ham, swiss cheese.... For any of these just roll up and saute the seam first. I like to arch it a bit too when I put it in the pan. Brown on the other side too then finish in the oven.

 

[LT72884]

kitchen elf thanx,

im not a fan of goat cheese. thats the stuff that looks like the color of peanut butter and it sticks to your face and mouth, right?

or is there other kinds of goat cheese?

 

[suziquzie]

pesto and mozzarella cheese is good too for stuffing.
you can drizzle some olive oil on them, but you wont really need it.
i always end up drizzling too heavily and knocking off some breading.

 

[kitchenelf]

No, goat cheese is pure white. It can also have herbs or pepper coating the outside. If you had goat cheese that was the color of peanut butter no wonder you don't like it!

Any cheese will do - mozzarella, swiss, jack, if you like hot use pepperjack. ANY cheese you like will work. Let us know what you do - it can't be bad no matter what you use.

 

[LT72884]

it was Norwegian goat cheese. i think thats what my moms friend called. she moved here from there and loves the stuff.

 

[LT72884]

No, goat cheese is pure white. It can also have herbs or pepper coating the outside. If you had goat cheese that was the color of peanut butter no wonder you don't like it!

Any cheese will do - mozzarella, swiss, jack, if you like hot use pepperjack. ANY cheese you like will work. Let us know what you do - it can't be bad no matter what you use.

ok cool. i have to learn some nice classy chicken dishes to impress the ladies. if you know what i mean. Next i have to learn how to present it. make it look sexy and yummy.

 

[kitchenelf]

I guess it could stick to the roof of your mouth though if you took a big enough bite of it - maybe you need to try it again - smaller bites. It's more of a spreading cheese versus taking a hunk and eating it (oh, I do that too though)

 

[GotGarlic]

3) simple stuffed chicken breast and or thighs and flank steak?

thanx guys.

Another member posted this from his blog recently: Livingston Cooks: A DIFFERENT KIND OF STUFFING

Just use whatever kind of cheese you like, as KitchenElf said. HTH.

 

[RedBedHead]

I like to use feta and basil as a stuffing for chicken. My kids hate it so I do their's with string cheese when I make it.

 

[LT72884]

I like to use feta and basil as a stuffing for chicken. My kids hate it so I do their's with string cheese when I make it.

MMMMM i love feta. Feta and bsil sounds good.

 

[LT72884]

http://www.cheesesupply.com/images/ekte_gjetost.jpg

this is the stuff im talking about.