The Unicorn Hotel's chicken schnitzel and gravy recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to cook store bought chicken schnitzel? ›

PRE HEAT OVEN TO 180 / 200- PLACE SCHNITZEL ON BAKING TRAY AND SPRAY LIGHTLY WITH A LITTLE OIL. PLACE IN OVEN AND COOK FOR 25 MINUTES OR UNTIL CRUMBS AND CRIPS AND GOLDEN.

Stir salt and 500ml hot water in a large non-reactive container (see note) until salt dissolves (1-2 minutes). Add 1.5 litres iced water and refrigerate to chill (20-30 minutes). Submerge chicken breasts in brine and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180°C. Place schnitzels onto grease proof paper on an oven-proof tray. Spray with a small amount of olive oil. Once oven is heated place schnitzels in oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.

If pan-frying chicken schnitzel from frozen, use a medium–low heat and cook the chicken for 4–6 minutes longer than the recipe or until cooked through. Baking can result in the chicken drying out. If baking chicken schnitzel from frozen, cook the chicken for 8–10 minutes longer than the recipe or until cooked through.

Heat a pan to medium heat and sauté the chicken in olive oil for 2 – 3 minutes per side.

Overcooking might play a role in your chicken's tire-like texture. Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.

I've found that seasoning the chicken directly first gives me more flavor. Heat the oil well. The oil needs to be hot enough (it should be shimmering but not smoking) so that the chicken will cook well and crisp up. If the oil is not hot enough, the chicken will absorb too much oil and give you soggy, oily schnitzel.

If your chicken breast are tough, you cooked them too long. Chicken breasts are hard to get right because they have a fat end and a skinny end. The fat end takes a bit longer to cook. Cooked perfectly, a chicken breast is moist and tender, with no pink flesh in the middle of the thickest part.

Schnitzel is usually fried, which isn't the healthiest thing, but if you have no weight issues or cardiac markers, it won't hurt you. The chicken in schnitzel is skinless white meat, which is high in protein and low in fat.

Do I rinse chicken after brining? ›

Once the chicken is brined, remove it from the solution, rinse off the excess salt, and pat it completely dry, inside and out, with a paper towel. This step is important because it prevents the chicken from steaming in the oven, which results in an unpleasant taste and texture.

Drizzle more olive oil over each piece. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and continue baking until no longer pink in the center and the breading is lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Place Chicken Schnitzels on a lightly greased oven tray and cook for approximately 25 minutes, turning once.

HOW TO COOK: PAN FRY: Fry schnitzels in a lightly oiled pan for 10-12 minutes, turning half way, until golden and cooked through. Product must be fully cooked before consumption. Cook from thawed.

Make sure your schnitzels are still crispy the next day by reheating them in the oven. Simply place the schnitzels onto a lightly oiled griddle pan (olive oil spray is perfect for this job) and pop into a pre-heated ove at 200C oven for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.

BBQ or Pan Fry: Cook from frozen with a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan or on a BBQ plate at medium heat for 10-15 mins or until heated through, turning once. Oven: Cook from frozen in pre-heated oven at 180°C for 10-12 mins turning once.