Mission Impossible: Chicken Kiev

About 20 years ago, I had a transcendent dining experience involving none other than the boneless skinless chicken breast. I was with my family in a small hotel restaurant on vacation, and I ordered Chicken Kiev. A gloriously golden breaded piece of chicken arrived, and when I sliced into it, melted garlic butter poured out onto the plate. It was truly sublime and I have never ever imagined I could recreate this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Until now.

One night in December, I must have dreamt about it, because my first thought of the day was not, "What day is it?" but rather it was,"Oh my goodness, I don't need a deep fat fryer to cook Chicken Kiev!" I don't normally wake up with fully-formed cooking aspirations, but I knew that by the end of the day, I would have to have given this butter-stuffed chicken a try.

A quick internet search yielded responses that supported my new frying theory. Neither Rachael Ray's nor Alton Brown's versions called for deep fat. That confirmed my suspicion, and I was on my way.

I didn't follow either of their recipes to the step. I took the basics - flattening the chicken, wrapping it around a pat of butter, breading, and frying, and this is what transpired.

I wrapped the boneless skinless chicken breast in wax paper and whacked it with a pot. Wax paper is an odd suggestion, though, as it split, so I would rather use cling film next time. The post-flattened picture is too unappetizing for words.

I wrapped the flattened chicken around a pat of butter sprinkled with salt and a teaspoon of minced garlic, then secured it with toothpicks.



After that, I rolled the chicken in flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs.

Does this look like a whole roasted chicken to anyone else?

Then I fried them in 1 inch of canola oil, a few minutes (too long) on one side, a few on the other.

The result was yummy. Fried breaded chicken is not going to disappoint. But if you're wondering how the pat of butter stayed inside a piece of chicken that was secured simply with toothpicks, the answer is, it didn't.

Which brings me to the Mission Impossible portion of the post. The joy of the butter oozing out onto the plate eluded me this time. Stay tuned for future attempts.