Wednesday, 11 July 2012

How to cook the perfect chicken kiev.

My first experience! (tastes great, I hope to improve my skills...in days to come.)
Buttery chicken kiev dish from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingst!
SO:
Serves 4

Ingredients:
100ml milk
2 tbsp plain flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg, beaten
150g dried white breadcrumbs
4 skinless chicken breasts, with fillets
sunflower or groundnut oil for deep-frying
For the garlic butter

100g unsalted butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper

How to make chicken kievs recipe:
1. Begin by making the garlic butter. Mix all the ingredients together really well, then form into a neat pat and chill or freeze until hard.

2. When you're ready to assemble the kievs, put the milk in a shallow dish, season the flour and put on a plate, put the beaten egg in another dish, and finally put the breadcrumbs on a plate.

3. With a very sharp knife, carefully slit each chicken breast along one side, down almost the whole length, parallel to the grain of the meat, to a depth of about 4cm. Give the thick part of the breast a few firm bashes with a rolling pin to flatten and spread it a little. This helps reduce the cooking time. Slice the hard garlic butter into four pieces and put one inside each chicken breast - cutting the butter to fit the hole if necessary. Use the fillets to close up the breasts.

4. Carefully dip each stuffed breast in milk, then flour, then egg. Finally, give it a good coating of breadcrumbs. If you have time, chill the kievs for half an hour, then repeat the egg and breadcrumb coating to give a double layer. This makes it particularly hard for any garlic butter to escape, and gives you an extra crisp finish.

5. The breasts need to be fried fairly gently if they are to cook through before the breadcrumbs burn. Heat your oil to 160C in a large sauce pan or deep fat fryer. Fry the kievs, turning occasionally and very carefully, for 12 minutes at least - 15 if you can get away with it - until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.
OR technique:
Posted by Felicity Cloake Thursday 7 June 2012
The Guardian.
Makes 2
2 chicken breasts
50g salted butter, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
½ lemon
2 tbsp flour, seasoned
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp breadcrumbs, panko if possible, seasoned
Vegetable oil, to deep fry

1. Mash together the butter, garlic and herbs, and season with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Form into 2 sausages, and wrap in clingfilm. Put in the fridge to chill.

2. Butterfly each chicken breast by opening it out using a knife, and then put it between 2 sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin or meat tenderiser until about 0.5cm thick, being careful not to create any holes. Season both sides well.

3. Put a sausage of butter near one edge of the chicken and begin rolling the meat up around it, tucking in the ends as you go (use some egg and flour as glue if they prove obstinate). Roll into a tight sausage using the clingfilm, and freeze for 2 hours.

4. Put the seasoned flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into 3 shallow dishes and then roll the frozen kievs in each in turn, then again in the eggs and crumbs to double coat. Put in the fridge to defrost, which should take about an hour. Preheat the oven to 150C.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or fryer to 160C, or until a crumb of bread turns golden in about 15 seconds, then gently lower the first kiev in. Cook it for 8½ minutes, then drain on kitchen paper and put in the oven to keep warm while you cook the next. Serve immediately, once your guest has tucked a napkin into their collar.

Why did chicken kiev go out of fashion – can we blame the ready meal? And has anyone ever eaten one in its eponymous homeland?

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