Smokey Buttermilk Chicken Parmigiana
This an amazing gourmet chicken parmigiana fit for any holiday celebration or for perking up a special midweek or weekend dinner.
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Servings: 6 to 8 People
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless organic chicken breast (6 pieces about 1/2 inch thickness)
MARINATING:
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
BREADING:
- 3 cups Kelloggs Corn Flakes
- 1 cup original saltine crackers (with no extra salt topping)
- extra virgin olive oil for frying the chicken
CHEESES AND LAYERING:
- 42 ounces marinara sauce
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese sliced - about 16 slices
- 1 pound fresh smoked mozzarella cheese sliced - about 16 slices
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 vine ripen tomatoes sliced into three circles each
- 1 extra large onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
MARINATE THE CHICKEN:
- Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towel. Flatten the chicken breasts to approximately 1/4 inch thickness.Note: Use a meat mallet or rolling pin. Place chicken, one piece at a time, between plastic wrap. Use the mallet or rolling pin and pound the chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness. This process adds tenderness to the breast and evens out the thickness.
- In a large bowl, add the buttermilk and all of the marinating ingredients. Mix to combine Add the chicken breasts and coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 2 hours or can be marinated overnight.Note: Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.
BREADING THE CHICKEN:
- Preheat the oven 375 degrees.
- In a food processor, add the corn flakes and crackers. Pulse until it resembles Panko breadcrumbs. Note: The corn flakes, cracker crumbs add a lot of flavor and the chicken is not overly breaded. You can use regular flour or Panko breadcrumbs, however.
- Place the cornflake-cracker crumbs in a bowl or plate. Over medium flame, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan - coat the pan with the oil. While the oil is heating, shake off excess buttermilk from the chicken breasts - bread the chicken breasts 3 pieces at a time. Fry the 3 pieces of chicken on both sides until lightly brown - about two minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the frying pan - add more oil to the pan, if needed, and brown the remaining chicken breasts.Note: Do not overcrowd the frying pan - if using a smaller frying pan you might only be able to do 2 pieces at a time. I used a non-stick frying pan.
LAYERING THE CHICKEN:
- In a deep lasagna style baking pan, spread about 2 ladles of the marinara sauce.Sprinkle 1/2 of the sliced onions on the sauce. Place the 6 slices of tomatoes on the onions, evenly spaced. Add 1 slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each tomato - you can alternate using the smoked and regular mozzarella.Place one piece of chicken on top of each of the cheese. Add one piece of mozzarella on top of each chicken breast - alternate the smoked and regular mozzarella.Sprinkle the fresh whole basil leaves on the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining sliced onions and top with marinara sauce.Top off the sauce with the remaining mozzarella cheeses. Dabble any remaining sauce on top of the mozzarella. Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil.Note: Visit my Facebook or Instagram page for a quick tutorial of the layering process.
- Bake 40 minutes, until bubbly. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy.
