Chicken Schnitzels and Mushroom Gravy
Crispy chicken schnitzels drowned in an easy homemade mushroom gravy - this recipe is pure comfort food!
Servings: 4
Cost: £3.50 / $4
Equipment
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon (for mushroom gravy)
- Large Heavy Bottom Pan & Tongs (for schnitzels)
- 3 Large Shallow Dishes (for dredging chicken)
- Cling Film & Rolling Pin or other heavy object (for pounding chicken)
- Wire Rack & Tray (to rest fried chicken)
- Small Pot (for seasoning)
- Jug (for stock)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Ingredients
Mushroom Gravy
- 9oz / 250g Button Mushrooms, thinly sliced (or other small mushrooms)
- 2 cups / 500ml good quality Beef Stock
- 4 tbsp / 60g Unsalted Butter
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Beef Oxo Cube/Bouillon Cube, crumbled
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Shallot, very finely diced
- 1-2 cloves of Garlic, very finely diced
- Salt & Black Pepper, as needed
Chicken Schnitzels
- 2x 9oz/250g Chicken Breasts
- 1.5 cups / 90g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 cup / 250ml Vegetable Oil, or as needed (sub sunflower or canola oil)
- 1/4 cup / 35g Flour
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp EACH: Paprika, Salt
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder (sub onion powder for more garlic powder)
- Fresh Thyme Leaves, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Mushroom Gravy
- In a large pan over medium-high heat add 1 tbsp olive oil and butter. Add in the mushrooms and fry until they soften and build up a golden crust (work in batches if you need to otherwise they'll just steam). Season with a pinch of salt and pepper then remove from the pan and place to one side.
- Reduce heat slightly to medium and melt 3 tbsp butter. Add in the shallots & garlic and fry until they soften and just begin picking up colour. Stir in flour, then gradually add in the beef stock, whisking as you go to ensure no lumps form.
- Add Oxo cube, Worcestershire sauce and salt & pepper to taste. Stir the mushrooms back through and simmer for a couple more mins until it thickens. Remove from heat. Reheat back on the stove over low heat with a splash of water to loosen up before serving. Give it a good stir to smooth out any lumps that may form.
Chicken Schnitzels
- Horizontally slice each chicken breast right through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts. One by one, loosely cover in cling film and pound until even thickness. You want them fairly thin, but not so much that the meat starts breaking apart.
- In a small pot combine 1 tsp salt & paprika with 1/2 tsp black pepper, garlic powder & onion powder.
- Line up 3 large shallow dishes: 1st with flour + half the seasoning, the 2nd with beaten eggs and the 3rd with Panko breadcrumbs and the rest of the seasoning. One by one dredge the chicken through the flour, into the eggs then finish in the breadcrumbs. Ensure you thoroughly coat the chicken at each stage, namely the breadcrumbs.
- Heat up enough oil to comfortably fill the bottom of a heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat. If you drop a few breadcrumbs in the oil they should rapidly sizzle (oil should be approx 180C/350F). Add two schnitzels and fry both sides for around 3mins each side, or until deep golden & piping hot through the centre. Lay on a wire rack above a tray or paper towels to drain the oil, then repeat with the remaining two schnitzels.
- Serve schnitzels with gravy poured over the top and a sprinkling of fresh thyme (optional).
Video
Notes
a) Mushrooms - Baby button mushrooms are great because they're small, which works well in a gravy. You don't want huge slices of mushrooms otherwise the gravy is difficult to pour and the mushrooms completely take over. In all cases make sure you give the mushrooms room when they fry so they can caramelize and develop flavour. Admittedly I should have done two batches in the video!
b) Make Ahead - You'll want to make the schnitzels fresh so they're at their crispiest, but you can definitely make the mushroom gravy ahead of time. Just allow to completely cool and tightly store in the fridge for a few days. Reheat on the stove over low heat with a splash of water to thin out as needed.
c) Panko Breadcrumbs - These are Japanese breadcrumbs that you'll find in the Asian section of most supermarkets.
d) Serving - Here I've served with Mashed Potato but check out my Side Dishes for more inspo!
e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 assuming 2 tsp oil is soaked up per schnitzel. Slight overestimate as not all the flour, egg & Panko is picked up.
Nutrition
Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.65g | Protein: 36.39g | Fat: 29.25g | Saturated Fat: 9.818g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.811g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12.721g | Trans Fat: 0.517g | Cholesterol: 184mg | Sodium: 917mg | Potassium: 636mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3.11g | Vitamin A: 792IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3.54mg