Chicken Parmesan

Breaded chicken fried until crisp, then finished with sauce and cheese just long enough to melt.

Makes 4 servings · Prep 25 min · Bake 20 min

Ingredients

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts — pounded to even 1/2-inch thickness, halved if large

Set up three shallow dishes: flour, beaten eggs, and panko mixed with Parmesan and salt. Dredge each cutlet in flour, then egg, then press firmly into the panko mixture. (Tip: Pounding to an even thickness beforehand isn't just for tenderness — an uneven cutlet cooks through unevenly, and the thick centre is the part that has to reach 74°C.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the cutlets until deeply golden on both sides and cooked through. (Tip: Check the thickest cutlet with an instant-read thermometer — it should read 74°C (165°F) before it comes out of the pan.)

Transfer the fried cutlets to a baking sheet, spoon a modest amount of sauce over each, and top with mozzarella. (Tip: Modest, not drowning — too much sauce on the crust for the next step will still soften it, sauce first or not.)
Bake just until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. (Tip: This should be a short finish, not a long bake — the chicken is already cooked through, so this step is only about melting cheese without softening the crust.)

Crust went soggy: The most common cause is sauce added before frying, or too much sauce piled on before the cheese step. Fry to fully crisp first, then sauce and cheese lightly and briefly.
Check doneness, don't guess: A cutlet this thin cooks fast enough that it's easy to either undercook it or dry it out. An instant-read thermometer reading 74°C in the thickest part removes the guesswork entirely.