Austrian Backhendl

I am ALMOST out of the A countries. Today we visit the beautiful country of Austria, surrounded by Switzerland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy this country is German speaking and gorgeous with lakes, the Alps and forests serving as a rugged background. I was looking for recipes from here and came across this backhendl, an Austrian version of fried chicken. OH MY STARS this was absolutely amazing. Juicy, tender, the crust stayed perfectly intact.... Just so much better than I expected lol. This may be one of my favorite fried chicken dishes.

I am still eating healthier so I served this with rice and peas (I love rice it was my cheat), sauteed asparagus with salt, pepper and paprika, and sauteed squash, zucchini and onions with lemon and dill. So good, and so filling for not too many calories. Next time I will probably use riced cauliflower as I am trying to cut back on rice some. The best part of this chicken is the ease in making it. It was super simple and quick, about 45 minutes since I had a smaller pot to fry the chicken in, next time I will use a larger pot so I can cook 3-4 pieces at a time instead of 2.

Ingredients

* 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins (breast would work as well as long as you pound them out to be thin)

* 1 cup all purpose flour

* 2 tsp pepper

* 1 tsp salt

* 3 eggs

* 2 cups bread crumbs

* salt

* lemon

* parsley

* Oil for frying

Directions

Start preheating oil in large pan. Oil needs to reach around 370 degrees, either a thermometer will work or when breadcrumbs are added they sizzle and slowly start to brown. While oil is heating mix flour, salt and pepper in one bowl, add eggs and whisk into a second and bread crumbs into a third. Dredge chicken through flour, coating evenly and shaking excess off. Repeat with egg, then with bread crumbs. Place all chicken on a plate once breaded until oil reaches desired temperature. Place chicken in oil, I used 2 pieces at a time in a 10 qt pan to ensure oil did not cool too quickly and there was no over crowding. Cook about 3-4 minutes then flip once crust starts to become golden. Cook another 3-4 minutes then place on paper towels to drain. Immediately sprinkle with a little salt and squeeze of lemon, then top with parsley. Repeat for all chicken. This can be placed in a warmer or on low in the oven as well to keep warm once drained as remaining chicken cooks.

I seriously cannot express how amazing this chicken was. I will be making this again later this week, actually.

#chicken #Austria #friedchicken