I just got a couple of chicken breasts wrapped around some frozen herbed butter. I’ve got them sitting in the fridge to “seal”, and I’ll bread and bake them in a couple of hours. I think I’m just going to wind up with buttery baked chicken, though- I had a terrible time getting the breasts pounded thin enough, especially around the edges, without tearing them up. I even butterflied them first, thinking that would make it easier.
So, now I have these chicken breasts with these big axe-murderer type holes in them. I patched them up as best I could, but I don't think that these are going to work. I'm still going to try, though.
Have you ever succesfully made Chicken Kiev that didn't leak out all over the place while it was cooking? And how do I pound out a chicken breast without tearing it up? Is there a special kind of pounder that I can use? I used the flat edge of a meat pounder with a long handle- it looks like a short handle.
Did you pound it between two pieces of moistened plastic wrap? That helps it to slide better so it doesn’t tear. Also, I wouldn’t butterfly it first - I’m not that steady with a knife, and any small nick will grow to a large gash when you pound it.
I use a meat mallet, which looks like an oversized hammer. One side has points, which I don’t use, and the other is flat. I use the flat side.
Alton uses a rubber mallet mostly.
It will still be yummy though! MMMmmmm, buttery baked chicken!
I put it between two pieces of plastic wrap, but didn’t moisten them first. I think I didn’t pound out the edges thin enough, because I was afraid to pound them anymore. This resulted in a bad wrap job. I suppose I can hope that the breading will hold the butter in.
I made Kiev yesterday and I think the butterflying was my problem. Too thick in some spots and too thin/holes in other spots right from the start. I used the bottom of a sturdy glass for pounding with the chicken between plastic wrap. The America’s Test Kitchen recipe I used did say to butterfly them but they didn’t give any tips on the butterflying or pounding other than to say to pound the edges thinner (to 1/8 inch) than the main portion so they’ll wrap more easily. They still tasted great and I think with some practice I’ll get better at the butterflying. Their recipe called for shallots in the butter mixture and it was really good. even with the leakage.
The recipe I learned from my mom has the rolled-up chicken dipped in flour first, then in beaten egg, then in crumbs. IME, this seals up any tears pretty well. FWIW, I also put sauteed chopped mushrooms in my herb-butter, and freeze the “fingers” of butter before rolling them in the chicken, so the butter doesn’t melt quite as fast. Good luck!!
The latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine has several pages about tricks to making Chicken Kiev so that it doesn’t leak. Mostly, they recommend butterflying them thin enough so you don’t have to pound them that much.
Kind of a funny note. Every month, someone writes in with a weird question that the experts answer. This month, they’re talking about an old melon baller from the early 1900’s. The caption to the picture is (I kid you not)
“For 1920s-style cylindrical melon balls, just plunge and pull.”