I’m getting over a cold. Not a particularly nasty one, though the cough is really annoying, but it’s been the first cold I’ve had for about four years so it knocked me for six (days).
And so I emerged from the blocked sinus fug with an immense craving for a/ ice cream and b/ something crispy, crunchy, covered in breadcrumbs and fried. Ice cream fix was easy, with half a tub of strawberry Haagen Dazs that languished in the freezer, but I’m still in need of a crispy fix.
Not very healthy, I know. But as I also know, a little of the not-so-healthy in an otherwise balanced diet won’t do any harm, and can massively improve your state of mind.
Contrary to what you might think, it wasn’t colonel Sanders who invented breaded meat. The concept probably got to America with Scottish immigrants, who knew the appeal of breaded and fried pieces of chicken. I suspect the method had twofold benefit: the breading bulked out the expensive meat, as well as covered up the lower than expected quality of the cuts.
Elsewhere in Europe they breaded and fried veal and pork for finer tables: costoletta alla Milanese in northern Italy, and its Austrian version of Wiener Schnitzel, imported from Italy to Vienna by Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky, of the March fame.
Schnitzel became a beloved item in Jewish cuisine, but to be kosher, pork went out and chicken or turkey came in, to replace not always easily available veal. And I would be awfully amiss not to mention fried and breaded fish at this stage, with Jewish roots and London as its birthplace.
These days air fryers are far more common than deep fryers but there is middle ground: I think the nicest, crispiest morsels are shallow fried. I’m not quite sold (yet!) on air fryers as I believe the results are not much different as from a good convection oven, and deep frying – well: the mess, the disposal of oil, the smell.
So let’s coat things in breadcrumbs: a note here on said breadcrumbs. Unless you make them yourself from good homemade or artisan white loaf by blitzing it in a food processor then drying or toasting – go for panko, the Japanese ones, widely available now. Do not go near the weird, orange crumbs in tubs made by Paxo.
Finally, the recipes. You can do breaded pork, a classic schnitzel or its Japanese-style cousin, katsu. If you prefer pork fillet rather than loin, make buttermilk fried pork.
In the schnitzel recipe you can swap pork for veal, to keep close to the tradition, or you can go further with the veal and make a pojarski cutlet: a bit of work, but so excellent!
If you thought lamb doesn’t roll in breadcrumbs easily, try Parmesan lamb cutlets for a treat. And any leftover cooked meat can be turned into crumb-covered rissoles – arguably better than the original meat dish.
And now for chicken. Chicken Milanese or garlic fried chicken, slightly KFC style? Or the ultimate comfort, cheesy chicken nuggets?
I have not forgotten fish! There’s the real McCoy of fish and chips but that’s batter, not breadcrumbs (probably theme for another week). My crispy haddock goujons are actually baked in the oven and none the less crispy and satisfying for it. Or Thai flavoured fishcakes made with any white fish offcuts which it is really prudent to collect in a freezer bag over time.
Hope one of these recipes will hit your crispy, crunchy, breaded spot and I’ll go for turkey schnitzel coated in dukkah breadcrumbs – recipe out soon. Happy breading!