Okay, I'm a little frustrated. I tried to make my fancy, experimental stuffed chicken parmesan last night. It was a brilliant idea, I thought, and wouldn't be too tough to carry out. How wrong I was! I got a new pounder specifically to be able to pound chicken for this particular dish. I have been thinking about it and planning it for a good long while. More or less, it's exactly the same as regular chicken parmesan, except that you pound the chicken flat, and wrap it around a stick of string cheese before rolling it in breading. Easy, right? It should've been! Instead, I was almost completely unable to flatten my chicken. I hit it a lot and with a fair amount of force, and it just wouldn't flatten past a certain point. I was hesitant to really let fly both because I live in an apartment and a horrific banging might be unpleasant for the neighbors but also because I wanted the chicken to be flat, not exploded.
Anyone have any tips on flattening chicken without making it unrecognizable?
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Lots of layers of emotions going on in this one
4 years ago
Of course! Okay, check it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you CAN butterfly it (almost completely cut in half horizontally, then opened like a book so it lays flat). This will greatly reduce your pounding time.
Second, or possibly in place of first, you place the chicken in a large ziplock, or between two pieces of heavy plastic wrap. Then, using your "pounder" (called a "paillard" in french) you'll want to hit near the center, pushing away from you at the beggining of your contact with the meat in a motion that is directly parallel to the countertop. I don't know if I explained that well. The point of this is that, no, brute force isn't going to do anything but pulverize your chicken. But hitting down and then away, sort of the shape of an "L", creates both force, and gives the chicken the idea of the direction you want it to spread.
And yes, it takes some serious FORCE. Maybe try cutting the chicken into slightly smaller pieces, then flattening and wrapping around thirds of the string cheese stick until you get the hang of it.
Or better yet, start with boneless chicken thighs. They have more collagen, slightly more intramuscular fat, and are therefor quite a bit more flexible.
Plus, chicken thighs are significantly cheaper, much more flavorful, and add negligable fat and calories after cooking.
Good luck!
P.S. If you go with chicken thighs, you can afford to go with a slightly more quality brand of chicken. These won't be injected with a solution of brine, as most store-brand chicken is. The brine makes the chicken more brittle and also less delicious and nutritious. Try Redbird Farms. They're based in Colorado, and turn out a reasonably priced, never frozen or injected bird. Not free-range (which I prefer), but still an adequate grocery-store-available brand.
Okay, I think I'm going to have to try that. I did the whole "directional smashing" thing, and I got a little bit of smashing done, but not enough. Maybe I just needed to work it for a lot longer. I'm definitely going to reattempt, though. Thanks a ton for your help! It's nice having you as a cooking resource.
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