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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Make Passover chicken schnitzel by coating chicken cutlets in crushed Manischewitz sea salt kettle chips instead of breadcrumbs, then pan-frying them. The host says the chip coating is crispier and "dare I say better than traditional schnitzel."
Key Points
- Traditional schnitzel uses breadcrumbs; this version swaps in salty kettle chips, which also come in barbecue flavor.
- Lightly beaten egg acts as the glue that holds the chip coating to the chicken, so no extra salt is needed, only a little cracked black pepper.
- Crushing the chips can be done by hand, with a meat mallet, or with a rolling pin (jokingly suggesting the mallet if you're angry, or the rolling pin as a kid-friendly task); the host uses her palms.
- Pie plates are recommended for the egg and chips because a flat plate helps contain the mess.
- Butterflied cutlets or chicken fingers (the "tender" natural piece) can be used.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Lightly beat the eggs and add a little fresh cracked black pepper.
- Open the bag of Manischewitz kettle chips (sea salt flavor), taste test if desired, add the chips, press out the air, and seal the bag.
- Crush the chips with your hands, a meat mallet, or a rolling pin until they form a coating.
- Set up an assembly line: egg mixture, then chips on a plate, with the chicken to the side.
- To butterfly a cutlet, lay your hand flat on top and slice through horizontally, like slicing a bagel, to make two thinner cutlets. The natural tender can be cut off as chicken fingers.
- Dunk the chicken in the egg, let excess drip off, then coat both sides in the chips and shake off the excess.
- Wash hands before handling the frying pan.
- Heat oil until shimmering, add the cutlet gently, and fry about one minute per side without overcrowding the pan so the edges crisp.
- Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Chicken fingers from the tender can be kept for yourself or the kids.
- The host says she does not miss breadcrumbs and calls the result "crispy, yummy heaven."
Bottom Line
Crushed salty kettle chips make a crunchy, breadcrumb-free schnitzel coating that needs only egg, pepper, and a short shallow fry.
