Kotlety Pozharskie (russian Ground Chicken Cutlets)

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 5 slices home style bread, crust trimmed off (4 oz)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 lbs ground chicken breasts (or 1 lb ground chicken & 1 lb lean finely ground veal)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1/4 lb)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, pulverized in a blender or shredded with a fork
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Recipe

• 1 soak bread slices in the milk in a small bowl for 15 minutes, then squeeze the bread dry.
• 2 combine the bread with the meat (grind together if you have a meat grinder), and gradually beat in the softened butter, along with the salt& pepper, until the mixture is smooth.
• 3 make 6 oval patties from this mixture (about 1 1/2" thick), then dip each in egg and then in the bread crumbs, thoroughly coating both sides.
• 4 clarify the remaining 10 tbsp butter by, without letting the butter brown, melting it slowly in a heavy skillet over low heat and skimming off the foam as it rises.
• 5 remove the butter from heat and let it sit for 2-3 minutes so they whey can settle out, then spoon off the clear butter and discard the milky solids at the bottom of the pan, and return 6 tbsp of the butter to the skillet.
• 6 place over a medium-high heat and when the butter is very hot fry the patties for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until the outside is golden brown and the inside doesn't look pink when pierced with the tip of a knife.
• 7 pour remaining clarified butter over the patties and serve immediately.