Chicken Kiev

Ah, Chicken Kiev. Chicken stuffed with butter. My little heart flutters (and then stops) when thinking about it. Back with my husband and I first moved in together, we ate a lot of those frozen Chicken Kiev things. I know most people reading this will probably scoff at that, but we loved them. To be honest, if we were to buy them and make them now, we probably still would. One day, I decided to try my hand at them. I was intimidated, but with Alton Brown's help, I felt confident. And you know what? It's actually pretty easy. And when you make it, you get to control the amount of salt & butter you put in and whether you bake it or fry it. So it's a win-win. Enjoy!

Chicken Kiev
Recipe by Alton Brown, adapted
Serves 2
Prep Time - about an hour (mostly inactive)
Cook Time - 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning chicken
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large whole egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
1 cup bread crumbs, plus 1/8 cup for filling
Vegetable oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS
Combine butter, parsley, chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer.

Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.

Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/2 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.

Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups bread crumbs in a different pie pan.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F.

Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. (Even though Alton recommends frying only, I recommend pan frying in only a small amount of oil to brown the outside of the chicken, and then finishing off the cooking process in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes to ensure the chicken is cooked through but doesn't get too brown on the outside).

from: http://elizabethscooking.blogspot.com/2008/09/chicken-kiev.html