I’m sure that you’re not surprised to read that I do a lot of cooking over the holidays. It starts the week of Thanksgiving and goes all the way through Christmas. It brings me great joy to share favorites (rarely am I making anything new!) with my family and friends. But when the new year comes along, it’s time for a bit of simplicity. This is a good recipe for the new year.

Preparing something Milanese-style is dredging meat in flour, coating it in egg followed bread crumbs and frying it. The meat could be veal, pork, chicken or beef (which is the preferred choice in South America). Depending on the meat of choice, it may be pounded thin but you may see a veal chop prepared Milanese-style. Some say that it originated in France and was brought to Milan, Italy during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. It’s also very similar to schnitzel which originated in Austria.

While this recipe is very similar to the traditional Milanese, there’s no flour and the chicken cutlets are cooked in an oven air fryer (making it a bit healthier). Using an olive oil spray on both sides of the breaded cutlets during oven frying helps to crisp them without using a lot of oil. See the recipe notes for how to bake this if you don’t have an oven air fryer.

I used gluten-free seasoned bread crumbs (Gillian’s Wheat, Soy, Dairy & Gluten Free Italian Bread Crumbs) to make these gluten-free, but you can use regular season bread crumbs as well. Don’t have seasoned bread crumbs? Add some dried basil, oregano and parsley to your plain bread crumbs.

This is easy to prepare and pairs well with lightly dressed arugula salad. I love a good squeeze of lemon on any breaded meat (Milanese or schnitzel) – don’t forget this finishing step.

Note:  I have found very few air fryer recipes that speak to frying in a full size oven. I have a GE 30″ Slide-In Front-Control Convection Gas Range with No Preheat Air Fry (model #JGS760SPSS) that we purchased in 2021. I mention this just in case you have the same or similar oven.

Air Fryer Chicken Milanese

 

Air Fryer Chicken Milanese
Print
Recipe type: Main Dish
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (~1 pound total)
  • ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Olive oil spray
  • ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs, regular or gluten-free (see Notes)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese or Italian Blend
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 4 ounces baby arugula
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
  1. Cut the chicken breasts lengthwise into 4 cutlets. Place each cutlet between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound until about ¼-inch thick.
  2. Sprinkle each side with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Spray a large cookie sheet with olive oil spray.
  4. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and 1 teaspoon of water.
  5. In a separate shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
  6. Dip a chicken cutlet into the egg and then coat each side with the bread crumb-cheese mixture.
  7. Transfer each cutlet to the prepared cookie sheet and spray with olive oil spray.
  8. Preheat the oven air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes. Move the top oven rack up so it’s in the second highest position. (See Notes for baking.)
  9. Place chicken in the oven. Air fry for 15 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway through. Spray cutlets again once you flip them. Chicken is done when it is golden and crispy, and cooked through to 165°F.
  10. While chicken is cooking, toss arugula with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  11. Divide dressed arugula between 4 dinner plates. Top arugula with a chicken cutlet. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese over each cutlet. Squeeze a lemon wedge over the chicken to finish it off.
Notes
* If you’re using plain bread crumbs, add ¼ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano and ¼ teaspoon dried parsley (or a combination of the three) to season them.
* Please follow your oven air fryer’s instructions. My oven recommends placing food closer to the top of the oven.
* You can also bake the cutlets in the oven at 425°F for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

 

Source:  Variation of a recipe from SkinnyTaste