I love bagels. I love everything about bagels. I love Everything Bagels. I could eat a bagel every day probably. Chanel and I have even taken our love for bagels so far that we have made bagels ourselves (because good bagels are hard to find). When we threw Townes' his first birthday party, it was NY themed and everyone got a party favor that was a Bagel-in-a-Jar (mason jars filled with the ingredients for homemade bagels with a recipe - with everything bagel toppings included). We love bagels.
Unfortunately, bagels are not exactly nutritious or very good for you, so even though I would love to slice a fresh bagel, toast it in butter on the flat top, and spread it with cream cheese every day, it's probably not the best everyday dietary choice.
So it was out of this love that these chicken cutlets were born. I was really wanting to make myself a sinful bagel sandwich with fried eggs, bacon, cheese, salt and pepper and a hash brown in the middle, but that seemed like a poor choice for dinner so I set out to figure out how to up the value factor and still be as satisfied.
I decided to lose the bread, but not the flavor by seasoning a thin, chicken cutlet with and everything-bagel crust and then getting the same feeling by topping it with cheese, bacon, spinach, avocado and serving it with a sweet potato hash. It was a hit! I'm not giving up my bagels any time soon, but man, the taste of this chicken was outstanding.
Everything-Bagel Chicken
Makes 4 Servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbs. white sesame seeds
- 2 tbs. black sesame seeds
- 2 tbs. caraway seeds
- 2 tbs. poppy seeds
- 2 tbs. dried, minced onion
- 1 tbs. Kosher salt or Sea Salt
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 cup panko
- 3 tbs. butter
- 3 tbs. vegetable oil
- 6 eggs
- 8 slices of bacon, cooked
- Avocado, sliced
- Spinach, chopped
- 4-8 slices of American or Cheddar cheese
- Sweet Potato Hash (see recipe below)
Start by preparing your chicken: using a sharp knife, carefully cut your chicken breasts in half width-wise (so you have made four chicken breasts the same size, but thinner). One at a time, place each half in a large Ziploc bag, and pound to 1/4 inch thin using a meat mallet. Set aside and wash your prep area well.
Next make the breading: add the black and white sesame seeds, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, minced onion, salt, garlic powder, and panko to the bowl of a food processor and pulse. You want to mix the flavors a bit and make the mixture a bit finer so you have better coverage on your chicken.
Using two shallow dishes, fill one with your chicken breading, and into the other, crack two eggs and scramble them with a fork. Set up an assembly line to batter your chicken. From left to right, have your chicken cutlets, egg wash, breading, then a clean plate for the prepared chicken.* I always try to only use one hand for wet, and one hand for dry to keep my fingers from becoming a globby mess. So with your left hand dredge one chicken cutlet into the egg wash and turn it over to completely coat the whole piece. Then place it into the dish with the breading. Using your right hand, cover the top of the chicken with breading, then turn it over to make sure all sides have been completely covered in breading. Place on clean dish, repeat with all four pieces of chicken.
*Note About Battering: My mom, and every other Italian mother/grandmother I know, would swear that the only proper way to bread chicken is to dredge it in seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper in it), then an egg wash, then breading. The flour adds an extra layer of binding that with a very fine topping (like Italian-style breadcrumbs) creates a thicker and more uniform coating. However, I think in this case the flour is unnecessary, but they would disagree - use your judgement.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken. Because the chicken is thin, you won't need to cook these terribly long, but watch the temperature of the oil: if it is too hot, the outside will cook to fast and burn but the inside won't be cooked through, but if it isn't hot enough the chicken will cook through, but your breading will be soggy. The chicken should need about 3-5 minutes on each side to be golden brown and cooked through. If you find yourself with chicken that is done on the outside but not on the inside, you can troubleshoot by placing the chicken on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven until its done and it shouldn't burn your breading.
As each piece of cooked chicken is done, set on a plate and top with one or two slices of desire cheese and a slice or two of bacon. Once your chicken is done, remove any loose oil from your pan (I just pour it into a bowl until it's cool enough to dispose of) but don't wipe it clean. It should have enough oil left to fry your eggs. Fry your four eggs to your preference and slide one egg on top of each piece of chicken - I did ours sunny-side up.
Top with spinach and avocado, serve with sweet potato hash.
Sweet Potato Hash
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 1 white onion, diced small
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 tbs. butter
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and salt and pepper. In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Pour the hash into the skillet and cook until potatoes are soft, with crispy edges. This can take a while, to achieve those crispy edges with soft insides, you will need to let it just sit and cook without stirring or disturbing it for five minutes or more at a time, before just flipping it all over enough to not burn. If you are constantly stirring or flipping it around (like sauteeing onions, or scrambling eggs) they will get mushy and the edges won't brown.
