Breaded chicken milanese baked instead of fried, marinated first in olive oil, garlic and parsley, and covered for the first fifteen minutes so it does not dry out.
The foil is the technique
Fifteen minutes covered, twenty-five uncovered. Those two numbers are what make a baked milanese work at all.
Covered, the tray traps steam and the chicken cooks in it, which keeps a lean breast fillet moist through forty minutes in a hot oven. Uncovered, the moisture leaves and the breadcrumbs dry out and colour.
Do only the first and the coating stays pale and soft. Do only the second and the chicken is dry by the time the crust is golden. The order matters as much as the times.
A thin film of oil, not a pan of it
The sixth step says to wipe the tray with some of the oil left from the marinade, and that is all the fat this recipe uses for cooking.
That is the point of a baked milanese: the same coating with none of the deep frying. The small amount underneath is enough to brown the crumbs against the tray.
Using fresh oil, or more of it, undoes the whole idea and gives you something greasy that is neither fried nor baked.
Half an hour of marinade
Three tablespoons of olive oil, a crushed clove of garlic, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and the fillets turned in it and left for thirty minutes.
This is where the flavour is. Baked chicken has none of the browning that frying gives, so what goes on before it reaches the oven carries the dish.
The recipe offers a shortcut, seasoning with salt and pepper instead, and it is honest about it being a shortcut.
Crumbs, egg, crumbs
Two hundred grams of breadcrumbs and it does both passes: through the crumbs, through the beaten egg, and back through the crumbs.
That double layer matters more in an oven than in a pan. Frying sets a coating almost instantly; baking gives it forty minutes to soften against the chicken, and a single thin layer will not survive it.
More breaded chicken
- Pechugas apanadas — with a sweet and sour sauce.
- Crispy parmesan chicken breasts — fried, with cheese in the crumb.
- Breaded chicken — the basic method.
- Chicken quesadillas — the other weekday chicken.
Baked Milanese FAQ
To steam the chicken and keep it moist. The twenty-five minutes uncovered afterwards are what crisp the coating. Without the foil you get dry chicken under a hard crust; with it on the whole time the breadcrumbs never colour.
A thin film, wiped on with some of the marinade oil. There is no pan of oil in this recipe and the coating browns from that small amount underneath. More makes it greasy.
No, and the recipe offers a way to skip it: just season with salt and pepper before breading. The result is noticeably plainer, since half an hour in olive oil, garlic and parsley is where most of the flavour comes from.
Breadcrumbs, egg, breadcrumbs. The 200 grams does both coatings, and that double layer is what gives it enough thickness to crisp in an oven rather than in oil.
190°C, which is 375°F. Fifteen minutes covered and twenty-five uncovered, so forty in total.
A skewer through the thickest part. Chicken breast fillets at this thickness are done well within the forty minutes, so the timing is set by the crust rather than by the meat.
Yes, and that is the original milanesa. This version exists to get the same coating without a pan of oil.
📖 Recipe
Milanesa de Pollo al Horno (Baked Chicken Milanese)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 4 chicken breast fillets
- 200 grams breadcrumbs (used for both coatings)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (for the marinade)
- 1 clove garlic (crushed)
- A pinch of parsley (finely chopped)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Notas
Instructions
- In a bowl, put the three tablespoons of olive oil, the crushed garlic, the pinch of parsley, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken fillets and turn them in that mixture until they are coated. Leave them to marinate for half an hour. If you would rather not marinate them, just season them with salt and pepper before breading.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Beat the eggs in a deep dish, and spread the breadcrumbs out on a flat plate.
- Now bread the fillets: first through the breadcrumbs, then through the beaten egg, and finally back through the breadcrumbs.
- Take an ovenproof tray, wipe the base with some of the oil from the marinade, lay the milanesas on it, cover the tray with aluminium foil and put it in the oven.
- After 15 minutes, take the foil off and carry on cooking for another 25 minutes. A skewer through the thickest part tells you when it is done.
- Take the tray out and serve the milanesas with a salad or a portion of rice.
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