Cutlet

"This dish was on our opening menu and still makes an appearance whenever we can get fresh skate wings," says Evans. His method also works with skinless turbot, flounder, or sole fillets

Tossing grated Parm into panko is the secret to crisper, better-tasting chicken cutlets.

In spite of my desire to never eat breaded chicken cutlets again, this was the first meal I ever made for Andy (at twenty-two, my meal repertoire was about as varied as my dad's) and in the years since, the chicken has proven to be a real lifesaver in the slap-it-together weeknight meal department. Plus, if you have this in your repertoire, you can make "chicken pizza," chicken Milanese (just top with an arugula and tomato salad that has been tossed with oil and vinegar), and real chicken fingers.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mexican classics, check out the video classes.

Lower in saturated fat than chicken, turkey provides one of the leanest sources of animal protein. The nutrient-dense poultry also contains heart-healthy B vitamins and selenium. Round out this simple preparation with a side of steamed green beans.

This simple yet timeless Italian dish demonstrates beautifully the process of sautéing: cutlets—most often chicken or veal—are dredged with flour, then sautéed in a mixture of olive oil and butter, a typical combination that is practical and flavorful. The flour encourages the chicken to form a light crust (and helps thicken the pan sauce), the butter helps it to brown, and the oil raises the smoke point so the butter doesn’t brown too much before the chicken is cooked through. A simple pan sauce is the only accompaniment, and is designed to make good use of the tasty browned bits left in the pan from cooking the chicken.

Wiener schnitzel (German for “Viennese cutlet”) is a time-honored Austrian dish believed to be inspired by the Italian methods of cooking cutlets known as Milanese or scaloppine. All of these are variations of the same technique: a cutlet (either veal, chicken, or pork) is coated with flour, then beaten egg, then bread crumbs before being pan-fried to a golden crisp. What distinguishes Wiener schnitzel from other sautéed meats is that the pan-fried cutlets pay a second visit to the pan for a last-minute dip into sizzling butter. Because the cutlets are breaded in a three-step method, they have a wonderfully crisp crust. The method is ideal when pan-frying cutlets and other smaller pieces since they will be able to cook through in the same time the crust turns crisp and brown. The process is simple but each step has a purpose: The flour creates a dry surface for the egg to cling to, while the egg serves as the “glue” for the breading, and the crumb coating (such as bread crumbs, panko, or ground nuts) adds unbeatable texture and flavor. Pat or press the crumbs firmly onto the meat and gently shake off any excess.

To fry the sage leaves for garnish, place them in hot oil until they start to curl, about 3 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon.

Not long ago, restaurants were just fun places to eat out—not the foodist temples of today. And they were often an ode to the owner’s homeland, hobby, or previous livelihood: a ski or fishing lodge, a Bahamian beach hut, a Chinese pagoda. At the top of our list is the stube, the Austrian ski shack with crossed skis hung over the mantel, beer steins, pretzel buns as bread, schnapps, and kabinnet. The menus here would invariably feature sides of mustard in glass jars, parsleyed potatoes, krauts and wursts of all kinds, and, ultimately, the schnitzel—crisp and hot and overlapping the plate like Dom DeLuise on a bar stool. We include schnitzel on the Joe Beef menu twice a year: in the spring with peas, cream, and morels, and in the fall with chanterelles, eggs, and anchovies (of course). Ask your butcher for 4 large, pounded schnitzels. Sizewise, default to your biggest pan. You can top the schnitzel with Oeufs en Pot (page 29), or with a plain fried egg with a lemon wedge alongside.

Pounding beef into thin "Milanese"-style cutlets makes portions look even bigger than they are. This recipe also works well with veal, pork, or chicken.

Cherries are just as delightful in savory contexts as they are in sweet ones; here, they’re combined with sage and a little vinegar to complement the mild flavor of pork chops. This is a perfect dish for a romantic dinner for two. This is a classic example of a simple pan sauce and can be modified for different meats or seasons. Try swapping in different fruits, herbs, or vinegars, depending on your whims and desires. If cherries aren’t in season, figs or apricots would be especially good.

Because they are baked, these breaded cutlets are more healthful and easier to prepare than fried versions. Making the cutlets yourself from a pork tenderloin is less expensive than buying them pre-cut.

Milanese, which means “in the style of Milan,” refers to meat (chicken, pork, or veal) that is pounded to an even thickness and then breaded. In this more healthful (and spatter-free) version of the classic Italian dish, the cutlets are baked, not pan-fried.

WHY IT’S LIGHT A very thin pork cutlet is a healthful main course meat, even after sautéing in olive oil; the secret is to only dredge in flour and skip the more traditional bread-crumb coatings. Fill out the plate with vegetables such as leafy greens and sautéed cherry tomatoes.

GOOD TO KNOW It takes only a tablespoon (or two) of olive oil to sauté chicken cutlets to a golden finish. Dredging the chicken in flour first encourages browning, but the temperature of the pan is the real key: Start with a hot skillet, and let the chicken form a crust before turning. After you remove the chicken from the pan, incorporate the browned bits into a quick sauce with wine, herbs, and some butter.

Cutlets cooked à la milanese—breaded in a cheesy crumb coating and pan-fried until crisp—are popular in every part of Italy (and here, for that matter!). They are usually made with veal, but my little aunt Carolyna wanted something she could serve her college friends, many of whom don’t eat veal. So I substituted chicken for the veal and added fennel to the quick pan sauce in this dish I devised for her; it is quite light and fresh-tasting, yet still true to the original.

Though this is an unusual preparation, in many ways lamb is the meat most suited to this simple treatment. Like all cutlet preparations, it’s lightning-quick.

Meuniere once referred to fillets of sole that were floured and quickly sautéed in clarified butter, then finished with parsley, lemon juice, and a little melted butter. Over the years its definition has expanded, to the point where it describes a series of flexible techniques that can be applied to just about any thin cut of meat, poultry, or fish, all of which makes it more useful. You must preheat the skillet before adding the oil (or clarified butter, if you’re feeling extravagant) and you must use a large, flat-bottomed skillet, preferably nonstick, with deep, sloping sides, which makes turning the cutlets easier and keeps the inevitable spattering to a minimum.

Said to have been brought to the islands by the Dutch, these are now as deeply ingrained in Japanese cooking as fried chicken is in ours. They are typically served on a simple bed of shredded cabbage, with a commercially prepared tonkatsu sauce. I have re-created the sauce from scratch here, and believe me, it’s far better than the bottled stuff. These can be deep-fried if you prefer (use about 2 inches of oil), but at home most Japanese shallow-fry them, as I do. Other cuts of meat you can use here: veal, chicken, or turkey cutlets.