This recipe is a hit with my husband. Nothing ever fails!
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 50 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 (8 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying, or as needed
Instructions
- Grind garlic and pinch of salt together in a mortar and pestle until smooth; add parsley and mix well. Pound butter into garlic mixture with the pestle until well combined. Wrap butter mixture in plastic wrap; refrigerate until cold, at least 15 minutes.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place 1/4 of the butter mixture in the center of the wider end of each chicken breast. Fold the narrower end of each chicken breast up over the butter to form a tight pocket around the butter; gather the sides of each chicken breast to the center to form a round ball. The top of each chicken ball will be smooth and the bottom will be gathered. Tightly wrap each chicken ball in plastic wrap; transfer to a plate and chill in the freezer until the gathered bottoms hold together and are slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk flour and 2 teaspoons salt together in a shallow bowl. Whisk eggs together in another shallow bowl. Pour panko bread crumbs into a third bowl.
- Remove chicken breast balls from plastic wrap. Gently press them into the flour mixture to coat; shake off any excess flour. Dip into beaten eggs, then press into bread crumbs. Place breaded chicken on a plate; cover with plastic wrap, and return to the freezer to chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Working in batches, place chicken, gathered-side down, in the hot oil and cook until lightly golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet; sprinkle salt and cayenne pepper over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until you can hear the butter start to sizzle on the baking sheet, 15 to 17 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of breading ingredients. The actual amount of breading consumed will vary. We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 790 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 62 g |
| Cholesterol | 268 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 60 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Sodium | 1656 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 38 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My favorite chef John chicken recipe
Always comes out perfect, however for less seasoned chefs, myself included, I have to use toothpicks to hold the chicken together. Just remember to tell your dinner guests.
It wasn’t much work at all. Although it took 2 hours from the moment I started, most of the time was spent just waiting for things to freeze and cook. I don’t know where he finds such small chicken, the ones we buy here are about double the size, so they were hard to work with and turned really big. Next time I’ll try cutting them in the center to have thinner pieces. We don’t like deep frying so we just sprayed some oil and air fried for a few minutes before throwing it into the oven. Unfortunately most of the butter leaked in the oven, either it was missing that deep frying to stick well, or more likely, I just didn’t close them well enough. Either way, although we skipped the deep frying, the texture was perfect, crispy and crunchy from the outside, soft from the inside, and the taste was great. Don’t be shy adding extra garlic and parsley, and if you like spicy food like us, then enough pepper.
I have made this awhile back and it is heavenly. One of the best things I ever put in my mouth. Thanks Chef John. Will be making it tomorrow again (my mouth watering)
Thank you Chef John! This recipe was fabulous and so much fun!! Made exactly as per recipe except I put the plastic wrapped chicken between two cutting boards and banged them with an actual hammer as I don’t have a meat one.
Everybody raved. It was really good. My problem was forming the little balls. I had monster chicken breasts that I sliced in half lengthwise to make smaller (close to 8oz) before pounding them out. The resulting packages were weak compared to Chef John’s and I had no faith. I took a square of plastic wrap and placed the ball top down in the center picked up the edges and twisted bringing the chicken into a nice ball and then froze it solid. Of course this also let me store them. Come dinner time a quick rinse in hot water made removing the plastic a snap. Fried 45s per side, as it was frozen baked for about 35 min @ 350. Came out great.
This recipe should be called Cook With Confidence Chicken Kiev. It was superb!
Made it exactly as it says. Is delicious!!!! A keeper recipe. Made it 2 times now.
Chef wasn’t lying when he said it wasn’t an easy recipe, but it was worth the effort.
Lot of work….but it was DELICIOUS!!! Chicken was tasty and super tender.
Chef John is just the best. I haven’t made just yet but this man never disappoints. Thank you! Just wanted to suggest changing name to Chicken Kyiv. The Russians lost their right to Russian spelling of it. Cheers to you all and Slava Ukraini!
Spectacular, truly. Per another review, added a pinch of tarragon (a favorite herb); with or without, this is a superb recipe – rich without being overbearing, perfectly seasoned, and dang pretty to look at! Total bravo, Chef John – huge thanks!
The missing link to authentic recipe is tarragon. I made it again with tarragon in the butter mixture and it was perfect. Thanks for the easy steps!
Like every other chef John recipe/technique it came out smashing. The dish is just amazing. I changed nothing and won’t for subsequent preparations of chicken Kiev. Why mess with perfection?
I’ve made it a few times following the recipe exactly as written. Final thoughts? A lot of work and found it bland, bland, bland.With a few added tweaks and minor changes, it’s much better Adjustments I made: *added finally chopped chives to the garlic butter, used 4 cloves instead of 2 – we like garlic. * added paprika to salt/pepper to season chicken breast * added additional garlic powder to the flour for coating * used italian herb bread crumbs and added cayenne right to that. As written? Not that great, but ok.
Loved the video to show how to properly stuff the chicken breast. The flavor was perfect. Chicken turned out perfect. Will be making this again and again!
Made this for a Valentine’s dinner and it was incredible. Definitely takes a while so plan your time but it’s worth every minute.
I made this recipe for the first time. I followed the exact recipe. It came out absolutely perfect. It was delicious…
Amazing
Followed the recipe to a T! It was extraordinary!!! The instructions were easy to follow! My family is wishing I made a double batch!
Fantastic recipe. So it’s really not “hard” to make, but there are quite a few steps involved. Definitely do not skip the fridge and freezer steps of letting the butter and the wrapped chicken set. These are what will keep them intact throughout the cooking process. I served mine with a creamed spinach and a nice French Chardonnay. Perfect dinner.