Recipes from the Twit Army Mess Hall - Chicken Kiev

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning chicken
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko), plus 1/4 cup for filling
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Combine butter, parsley, tarragon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, you'll probably need a hand mixer to make sure this is blended well. Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer. Do not skip this step, this butter must be firm or this will never work. N.B. This seasoned butter is also good for steak & if wrapped air tight will keep for several months so it may be worth your while to make a large amount and freeze it for further use.

Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Don't try and skip this step, you need the thin pieces for this to work. Also, don't use the thin chicken scallops which are available they aren't large enough to work. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.

Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/4 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.

Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups of panko on a piece of foil with the edges turned up to form a shallow pan.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F. That's shimmering but not smoking.

Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.