The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

eat, 10 minutes if you want to add a pan sauce (I would).
Most supermarkets carry cutlets, but you can make your
own starting with whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts;
see “How to Prepare Chicken Cutlets,” here. Because of the
cutlets’ thinness, you’ve got to use very high heat when
cooking them lest they overcook before they have a chance
to brown and build up flavor. I like to dredge my cutlets in a
little bit of flour before adding them to the skillet. The thin
coat of flour browns more efficiently than plain chicken
does, giving you color more quickly while offering some
amount of protection to the meat.
My initial thought when cooking chicken cutlets was that
both sides should be cooked for about the same amount of
time—after all, I wanted even browning, right? But after
trying this method over and over, I found that it simply
wasn’t possible to brown both sides without really
overcooking the meat. So, why not just brown one side
extra well? It worked like a charm. I placed the cutlets in a
skillet with hot oil and cooked them without moving until
the first side was well browned. At this stage, the cutlets
were already almost cooked through. All they needed was a
quick kiss of the flame on the second side—about 30
seconds’ worth—and they were finished, ready to rest and
serve.