Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Happy Wednesday guys!  How's everyone's week going so far?  So far so good with us!

Picked up our CSA box this afternoon and it was LOADED with goodies!  Can't wait to share all of our goods with you tomorrow!

And on to today's recipe...

When I think of pretzels, I don't usually immediately think to use them as a coating/breading - although it's quite common these days!  But the salty snack is a great breading for chicken and fish!  This recipe proves it!


Ingredients:

Adapted from Savour Fare's recipe

1 & 1/2 cups pretzel sticks
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 & 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tabasco, optional

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place a rack over a baking sheet.

Place pretzels into a plastic bag and seal.  Run a rolling pin over the pretzels until they reach a desired consistency.  I liked them somewhat pulverized, but still with small chunks of pretzel still visible. 

Transfer crush pretzels to a shallow dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine spicy brown mustard, Dijon mustard, water, and vinegar.  Whisk to combine.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil until fully incorporated and homogenous.  Add in cayenne pepper and season with salt, if needed.

Dip chicken breasts in mustard mixture and coat well.  Then dip in dish with pretzels and coat well.  Place chicken breasts on top of rack on baking sheet. 

Bake chicken until cooked through, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts (ours were quite large).  Slice and serve with some buttered pasta and Tabasco sauce (couldn't resist the added heat!).

This was such a quick and easy weeknight meal, I'm really thinking about keeping it in my rotation for a while!  I loved the added crunch of the pretzels and the mustardy/Tabasco kick!  Loved it - and I hope if you try this, that you will too!

Have a great Wednesday guys and hope you're back tomorrow to see our CSA goodies!  And Friday, I'll be posting the Derby Pie fudge recipe, so you know you can't miss that!  I'm off to play some volleyball (we've just got to do better than last week's 0-3 showing!)

Panko Encrusted Chicken Breasts w/ Maple Mustard Pan Sauce

Well that was a doozy to say out loud. Good thing it's simpler than it sounds. Now I have to make a confession. Mustard scares me. Pretty much any condiment does: mustard, ketchup, MAYO (especially mayo), relish, it all freaks me out. I don't know what it is, but if you ever wanted to have me in a panic attack, just throw a bunch of condiments on me and I'll be set. So I was kind of weary making this sauce, but I've been learning to face my fears and overcome, and that is what I did...

Ingredients:

5 boneless chicken breasts, each cut in half crosswise
2 eggs
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
1-2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

If you're in a bad mood or angry at something when you start to make this, then this recipe is definitely going to relieve some stress. Place a few chicken breasts in a large plastic bag and flatten with a rolling pin or bottom of a pan. Really get it good, but don't murder the chicken, that's just wrong. You want it to be about 1/2 inch thick.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, parsley, and a squirt or two of the Dijon mustard. Like I said, mustard wigs me out so I kinda skimped on the mustard a bit. But you can add as much as you like if you're into that.

Dip chicken in egg mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Then dip chicken into panko and cover all over.


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium to high heat. Cook chicken until it has a nice brown crust, about 4 minutes per side.

Make sure you don't overcrowd your pan, I did about 3 pieces per batch, but it just depends on the size of your chicken. Set chicken aside in a pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

In another small bowl, mix together the broth, syrup, coarse-grained mustard, and a few squirts of dijon mustard. Add this mixture to the pan used for searing the chicken and reduce to about 3/4 cup. Should be about 4-6 minutes. Then add chilled butter and stir until melted. Plate chicken and spoon sauce over top!

This was really good. I loved the panko crunch and the chicken was nice and tender. The sauce was great. It was a little sweet, but you could definitely get a good hint of mustard. And it didn't freak me out. Not to mention our dinner guests were pretty pleased also. (Patting myself on the back now). Enjoy!