Chicken Parmesan

I'm always up for trying a new Chicken Parmesan recipe, so when I came across this one, I fought against my natural instinct to dismiss it because of the crazy name Guy Fieri gave it, and actually looked at the recipe to give it a try. I'm glad I did. It probably won't become my go-to recipe (mostly because it was really time consuming), but there are definitely elements I'll combine into my standard recipe. I loved the breading on the chicken, and I thought that brining the chicken made the meat a lot more juicy than normal. I also loved the crispiness the chicken got when putting it under the broiler for a couple of minutes.


Chicken Parmesan
Recipe from Guy Fieri
Serves 4
Prep Time - 60 minutes (30 minutes are inactive)
Cook Time - about an hour

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 quart water
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 lb grated Parmigiano cheese
oil, for frying
tomato sauce (make your own or use a jar - the homemade that went with this recipe wasn't worth it)
Spaghetti noodles, cooked to al dente.

DIRECTIONS
Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/2-inch. Combine the salt, sugar, and water in a large ziploc bag; shake until dissolved. Add the chicken breasts and soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Mix the eggs and milk in medium bowl and whisk thoroughly. In a separate bowl combine the bread crumbs, oregano, basil, parsley, sea salt, and pepper.

Remove the chicken from the brine, pat cry, and lightly dredge the chicken in the flour. Shake off the excess flour. Dredge the chicken in the egg and milk mixture. Dredge the chicken into the bread crumb mixture, and lightly pat down in the bread crumbs to adhere. Let the breaded chicken sit for 5 minutes before frying.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the broiler.

In a medium pan on medium-high heat, add enough olive oil to come 1/3 up the side of the chicken. Cook the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan when cooked and place on a sheet tray.

Top the chicken with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Place under the broiler for a couple minutes, or until the cheese bubbles.

Serve chicken over pasta and ladle marinara sauce on the top. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.