Chicken Cotoletta alla Milanese

Serves 4. The Milanese trick — and what separates a cotoletta from a schnitzel — is frying in clarified butter: with the milk solids removed, the butter tolerates 190–200 °C without burning, giving a deeply savory, crisp crust while the thin cutlets stay juicy.

Ingredients

• 500 g chicken breast inner fillets (or regular fillets, halved horizontally)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 120 g all-purpose flour
• 120 g breadcrumbs
• 350 g butter, for clarifying
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon slices, to serve

Preparation

1. Clarify the butter: bring it to a boil in a small saucepan so the water evaporates and the milk solids separate as white foam. Skim the foam off the top, then pour the butter through a fine sieve into a container to catch the rest of the solids.
2. Pound the fillets gently until they flatten and spread out. If you're using whole breast fillets, first slice them in half horizontally, then pound.
3. Set up three bowls on the counter: flour seasoned with salt and pepper in the first, the beaten eggs in the second, breadcrumbs in the third.
4. Heat the clarified butter in a heavy (ideally cast-iron) pan to 190–200 °C. Coat each cutlet in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, and lay it carefully into the hot fat — only as many at a time as fit comfortably, so the temperature doesn't drop.
5. Fry for about 3 minutes until the underside is golden, flip, and give the other side about 2 more minutes. Drain on a rack or paper towels between batches.
6. Serve with lemon slices, alongside vegetables or fries. They can be held in a 60 °C oven for a short while, but freshly fried is crispest.