Torikatsu...chicken cutlets

As in my previous post, this weekend felt like a rice and Japanese taste weekend.  I was going to be off of red meat anyway, it had to happen.  So, I made this...

Pan-fried chicken cutlets with Tonkatsu sauce, broccoli and rice.  This is my idea of comfort food, with Tonkatsu sauce being one of my favorite condiments, lending a fruity/salty flavor profile which is a more savory combination than say ketchup or gravy.  But, this chicken was a little different, as I chose to use my new experimental Pig Honey, which was covered in a previous post here.  I marinated the chicken breast in the Pig Honey to help with moisture and to add another layer of flavor.

The thighs and one of the breasts are destined for another cook.  One of these breasts was removed from the marinade after 3 hours, sliced into cutlets and then worked over with a serrated face meat mallet into paillards.  These were floured and allowed to cure for 20 minutes. This allows the flour to form a dry layer on the wet chicken surface.

You can see the cured chicken paillards, along with the panko (Japanese bread crumbs) which I mix with a little flour also. This aids in creating a coating that sticks to the chicken.  Once the curing period is done, I dip the chicken into a loose egg wash, equal parts egg and water (or milk).  Then into the panko mix and onto the rack to cure for another 15 minutes. These are then ready to fry.

From there, it is simple to shallow fry the chicken in about 1/2" of oil.  It is difficult to measure the heat of the oil in that shallow of a depth, what I do is dip the end of a bamboo hashi (chopstick) into the oil and if it bubbles actively, but, not vigorously, then I know the oil is ready. Add three pieces to the pan, do not crowd or over-fill the pan as the oil must remain hot.  These are thin and need to cook only 3 to 4 minutes per side and until light golden brown.  Like these...