Chicken Breasts
Source: Anonymous, 1920
History
This recipe is recorded in "La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina," a Spanish domestic cookbook issued in Madrid by Editorial Saturnino Calleja; the Biblioteca Nacional de España copy catalogued by the Real Academia de Gastronomía is dated 1921, while other surviving copies carry an imprint of 1923. The book lists no author. As printed, the dish is a preparation built on already-roasted chicken rather than raw meat: after the chickens have been roasted, the breasts are separated and each cut into two pieces, then coated in breadcrumb, beaten egg and bread and fried in very hot fine olive oil ("Después de asados los pollos, se separan las pechugas, cortando cada una en dos pedazos y se rebozan en pan rallado, huevo batido y pan, friéndolas en aceite fino muy caliente"). It appears among a cluster of other poultry preparations in the book's poultry-and-game section, without accompanying commentary. Beyond what the cookbook itself sets down, the historical record does not document an origin, inventor, date, region, or any social or status meaning for this particular dish.
Ingredients
- chicken
- breadcrumbs
- eggs
- bread
- fine olive oil
Instructions
- After the chickens have been roasted, separate the breasts. Cut each breast in half. Coat the pieces in beaten egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs and bread. Fry them in very hot fine olive oil until golden.