Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev

When I was a kid, I love chicken kiev and chicken cordon blue. My mom used to get them frozen and they were a special treat. My husband also had them as a kid and loved them. So, I decided to make them from scratch. I also decided to bake them because it is healthier (and my stove doesn't get spattered with grease; I use a spatter shield and I still get grease everywhere). This dish has more prep time and steps than I want for a weekday meal but it would work great for the weekends. Also you can make a batch of them and freeze them! After you roll them in the breadcrumbs just freeze them. When you are ready to eat them, defrost completely, and bake as directed.

1/2 Cup (113 g) of Butter, Softened (2 Tbsp of Butter per Chicken)
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
2 Tsp Dried Herbs (I used a mixture of dill, lemon zest, and chives)
1/4 Tsp of White Pepper

Place all of the ingredients into a mixer or a bowl and mix until well combined. Place the butter mixture on a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log, and freeze.

A log of herbed butter

4 Pieces of Boneless Chicken
Butter Mixture, Cut into 5 Pieces (Save one piece for the the bread crumbs)

Place a piece of chicken in between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound.

Pounded chicken

It is a great way to work out the tension from the day. The chicken should be about 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick. Place a piece of the butter mixture in the center of the chicken and fold so that the butter is encased in chicken.

Place the frozen herbed butter in the center of the chicken

Fold over to form a log

Fold over to form a package of chicken around the butter

Place the chicken on a pieces of plastic wrap crease side down wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least two hours. Repeat with remaining chicken.

1/2 Cup (60 g) of Flour for Dredging
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup (60 ml) Milk
2 Cups (300 g) of Breadcrumbs or Panko
1 Piece of Butter Mixture, Melted

Preheat oven to 350F/176C/ Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking pan. Place the flour on a plate or in a bowl. Crack the egg into a bowl, add the milk, and beat the egg and milk together.  If you are using fresh bread for the bread crumbs, toast the bread. Combine the bread crumbs and butter in another bowl. Roll each piece of chicken in the flour, then egg, and then bread crumb mixture.

Rolling in bread crumbs

Place in the baking pan. Bake for 20-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F/74C. How long you cook the chicken really depends on how thinly you pound the chicken. You usually test the temperature by placing the meat thermometer in the middle but don't do that for this. Test the end otherwise all of the butter goodness will escape and you don't want that.

Baked chicken kiev (the lighter bundle is the panko coated chicken)

The bottom line: will I make this again? This exceeded my expectations. It was incredible. So much better than store bought (or truck bought). I tried to sneak back and get the last chicken kiev, was caught, and had to share it. I preferred the chicken with homemade breadcrumbs and not the panko. So I will be making it again with breadcrumbs.