Kosher for Passover Chicken Schnitzel

We're living in a strange time. It's been interesting noticing how people have responded to our new reality of social distancing. Since people are going grocery shopping far less frequently, buying habits have changed. We made a large Sam's Club run a few weeks ago, and they were completely out of dark meat chicken. Our local Hy-Vee and Walmart were also out of dark meat. Perhaps this is a reaction to the relatively low prices of these cuts. As is well-known on this blog, the thigh is my favorite part of the chicken, so I've had to deal with boneless, skinless chicken breast for basically the first time ever. 

Continuing on the theme started with my kosher for Passover scotch eggs, I wanted to do another easy variation of a classic dish that can be done for Passover. Pounded thin and fried as a schnitzel, the potential dryness of chicken breast is less of a problem, though I do still prefer thighs for chicken cutlets (see Cotoletta alla Palermitana). To substitute thighs in this recipe, use two boneless thighs instead of one butterflied breast. 

I use the basic flour-egg-breadcrumb breading technique here, substituting matzo cake meal (finely ground matzo) for flour and regular matzo meal (coarsely ground matzo) for breadcrumbs. The result mimics the traditional schnitzel, but with that distinctive matzo flavor in the background. As a final note, I used canola oil for frying, which is kitniyot, a broad category of foods avoided by some, but not all Jews during Passover. Ariel typically doesn't eat kitniyot, but usually makes an exception for cooking oils. If you want to avoid this, an alternative oil or schmaltz could be used.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 egg
• Matzo cake meal
• Matzo meal
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil
• 1 lemon wedge

Instructions

Butterfly the chicken breast. I cut it all the way through to make two separate cutlets, but if you are using a very large pan, you can leave it as a single piece. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken and pound thin with a mallet or soup can. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Prepare a pan for shallow frying. I used a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Add vegetable oil about 1/3 inch deep and heat on medium high.

Crack the egg into a shallow bowl and beat. Prepare a plate of matzo cake meal and a plate of matzo meal. Dredge both sides of the cutlets in cake meal, dip in the egg to coat both sides, then dredge in matzo meal to fully coat the cutlets.

Fry the cutlets until golden brown and crispy on both sides. I cooked them one at a time. It is a bit trickier to tell when it is done with matzo, as it does not brown as much as regular breadcrumbs. Serve with a lemon wedge.