A few months ago I went to see The Help with Taryn and some Army wife friends. After the show, I got a request to make fried chicken and put it on the blog. My response was that I don’t make fried chicken. I do not eat chicken with skin or on the bone. Don’t be gross.

However, thanks to Pinterest I came across a fried chicken recipe that suited my tastes. For starters, it’s made with boneless, skinless chicken hooters. Yay for that! It also calls for panko and parmesan in the breading. Yeah…I could eat that. I made it last night, it was a big hit.

Panko And Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Slightly Adapted From Bell’ Alimento

Ingredients

4-6 Chicken Hooters, fat trimmed off

Salt & Pepper

3 eggs, slightly beaten

3 1/2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs

1 1/2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbs. Dried Basil

Olive Oil

I cut all of my chicken hooters in half, just to make them easier to fry but you could leave them whole. Place them on a cutting board and cover them with plastic wrap. Using a rubber mallet, or if you’re me a rolling-pin, pound them out to 1/4 inch thickness. I have no idea how much a 1/4 inch is, so just thin enough to not take 17 hours to fry. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.

Combine the Panko, parmesan cheese, and basil. I had enough chicken to have two small pieces leftover after dinner. I felt like I had too much breading mixture, but I don’t know how to do the math to cut it down. I’m not so good with numbers.

The original recipe said to simply dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture. I tried it, but it didn’t stick well enough for me. I wanted it extra crispy. (I also considered going to KFC- or White Face Guy as the twinkies call it- at this point.) I first dunked the hooters in the eggs and then dredged them in the breading mixture.

Heat a pan with enough olive oil for frying. Fry the hooters until they are cooked through. Since it is pounded out it went relatively quickly. I may have said this before, but once I’m done frying something I place it on a cooling rack over a plate or pan that is lined with paper towels. That way no one has to eat the paper towel that is stuck to the bottom of their food.

I served this with roasted brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes with chicken gravy. It might be the best meal I’ve cooked in a while. Dallas said, “I think I could eat every piece of food on the table tonight.”

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.