Vodka Sauce Chicken Parm
Ughhhhhhh. I mean, can that one word be my whole write up for this recipe? Gahhh it is just so good. I love chicken parm. I was craving it in a bad way last week so I whipped it up for my birthday dinner. Chicken parmesan isn’t difficult, per se, it’s just kind of pain in the ass with the mess of the breading station and the frying in oil. But let me tell you, the pros outweigh the cons about a thousand to one. Chicken parm is delicious with good ol fashioned marinara sauce, but I vastly prefer it with vodka sauce. We didn’t even serve it with pasta- Just the chicken and some garlic bread and we were good to go. I hope you’ll give this one a try. Don’t be intimidated if you haven’t tried it before. You can pre-bread the chicken and store it in the fridge if you need to prep ahead of time. Just be sure to pull the chicken out 15 minutes or so before you start the frying process so that you aren’t frying from cold.
The process is as follows:
1.) Work on your vodka sauce. Get it going in a pot and allow it to simmer until you’re ready to use it.
2.) Slice your chicken breasts in half to create four chicken cutlets. Lay the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment. Pound with a meat mallet (or a rolling pin, mason jar, whatever ya got) until under an inch thin. Creating a thin chicken breast will result in a crispier, juicier and more evenly-cooked final product.
3.) Get your breading stations ready. In three shallow bowls, get your flour in one, cracked eggs in the next, and breading in the third.
4.) Bread then fry your chicken.
VODKA SAUCE CHICKEN PARM
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cut in half then pounded thin
2 large eggs
1 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups panko breading, seasoned
l T Italian seasoning
1 t garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying
6-oz fresh buffalo mozzarella
Fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Vodka sauce
Directions:
1.) Make the vodka sauce. If using a jarred sauce, toss it on the stove and heat over low.
2.) Slice the chicken breasts in half. Place the four cutlets in between two pieces of parchment or plastic wrap, or place in a ziplock bag two at a time. Use a meat mallet or similar to pound the chicken nice and thin, under an inch thick.
3.) Make your breading station. In the first bowl add flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Bowl number two holds the cracked and whisked eggs, and finally the third bowl holds the panko breading seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off any excess. Be sure to get every piece of chicken. Dip the chicken into the eggs, then press into the breading. Flip and press the backside, ensuring the chicken is evenly and well coated.
4.) Once all your chicken pieces have been coated, it’s time to fry. Add olive oil to the base of a pan (roughly a half a cup) over medium-high heat. Once it’s nice and hot, gently place in your chicken. Once completely browned, flip and cook the opposite side. Cook until the internal temp is 165. It should take about 3-4 minutes per side.
5.) Coat the cooked chicken with a generous dollop of vodka sauce, and top with two pieces of buffalo mozzarella. Cover with grated parmesan and broil for 1-2 minutes. Add fresh basil on top before serving.
