Côtelettes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •One 14-inch (35 cm) heavy skillet, or two 10-inch (25 cm) heavy skillets
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wide shallow dish for flour
• •Thin flexible turner and large basting spoon
• •Parchment and a flat-bottomed small pan for evening the meat

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the côtelettes

   Trim away every scrap of skin, loose fat, and cartilage, then scrape the exposed wing bones clean. Leave the small inner fillet, the minion, attached and tuck it neatly beneath each breast. Pat the meat thoroughly dry. If one end rises much thicker than the rest, place the côtelette between sheets of parchment and press only that thickest part with the flat base of a small pan until the meat is an even ¾ inch (2 cm) thick. Do not pound the whole breast thin; this is a juicy suprême, not an escalope.

   Ask the butcher for small skinless airline breasts with the first wing bone, the humerus, left attached and frenched. A boneless breast can teach the same sauté, but it is not a côtelette; the word carries the cut.
2. 2

   Ready the service

   Warm an oval serving platter and four dinner plates, then set the table completely. Put the flour in a wide shallow dish, measure the salt, and place the thermometer and turner beside the stove. The cooking takes only minutes, and the original warning about delay is absolute: a finished côtelette held while you search for plates becomes dry.

3. 3

   Heat and flour

   Set one 14-inch (35 cm) skillet over medium-high heat, or set two smaller skillets on adjacent burners so all four côtelettes can cook without touching. Add 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 82 g) of the clarified butter, dividing it between two pans if needed, and hold the rest in reserve. Heat until the butter is fluid and visibly shimmering but not smoking. Only now season the côtelettes evenly with the salt, roll them through the flour, and shake them firmly so no more than a pale veil remains. Flour left in clumps drinks butter and burns.

   Flour only dry chicken and only after the butter is hot. Flour sitting on damp meat becomes paste, while a thin dry coating gilds cleanly.
4. 4

   Gild the first side

   Lay the côtelettes rounded-side down in the hot butter, starting the second skillet about 30 seconds after the first so one cook can manage both calmly. They should sizzle immediately without spitting violently. Cook undisturbed for 2½ to 3½ minutes, until the first side is an even deep butter-gold. If the flour turns chestnut during the first minute, slide that skillet off the burner, add a spoonful of the reserved clarified butter, and lower the heat before returning it. Catch it early and the coating remains sweet rather than bitter.

5. 5

   Turn and finish

   Turn each côtelette and cook the second side for another 2½ to 3½ minutes. Tilt the skillet occasionally and spoon the clear hot butter over the thicker end and around the wing joint. Check the centre from the side, keeping the thermometer away from the bone; the meat is ready at 165°F (74°C), resilient beneath a finger but not hard. The gold and the doneness should arrive together. If the surface is ready while the centre is still cool, move the skillet half off the burner, turn the côtelettes every 30 seconds, and baste until the temperature is reached. Ça se rattrape. Do not cover the pan or add liquid, which would turn this quick sauté into a poor poach and soften the flour.

6. 6

   Serve without delay

   Lift the côtelettes directly to the warm platter, rounded sides up and bones facing outward. Let excess butter fall from the turner for only a few seconds; do not drain, stack, cover, or hold them. Bring the platter straight to the table while the coating is crisp at the edges and the clarified butter still gives the meat its golden sheen. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Size decides the dish. Choose breasts no larger than 6 oz (170 g) each, or the outside will colour before the centre cooks. If your butcher has only large birds, ask for smaller airline breasts rather than splitting a large breast and losing the defining wing bone.
• •Clarified butter is essential because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the fat to become properly hot without scorching. To make 8 tablespoons (120 ml / 110 g), melt about 10 tablespoons (150 ml / 142 g) unsalted butter gently, skim the foam, and pour the clear golden fat away from the milky sediment. Butter, not margarine.
• •The flour is a veil, not a breading. Shake off enough that you can still see the grain of the meat beneath it; a thick white coat becomes greasy before it becomes golden.
• •Keep this preparation to salt, flour, and clarified butter. Pepper, lemon, herbs, and sauce belong to other named variations; adding them here would blur the exact entry you are cooking.
• •Serve with buttered green beans, petits pois, or pommes purée, all prepared before the chicken enters the pan. A dry, lightly oaked Chardonnay has enough freshness for the butter without overpowering the delicate meat.
• •These côtelettes are poor candidates for reheating. If any remain, refrigerate them within 2 hours and use within 2 days, preferably sliced cold rather than fried a second time.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarify the butter up to 1 week ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container. Melt it gently before cooking; it need only become fluid, not brown.
• •The butcher can prepare the côtelettes a day ahead. Pat them dry and refrigerate on a rack, loosely covered, for up to 8 hours so their surfaces stay dry enough to gild.
• •Warm the platter, prepare the side dishes, and set the table before cooking. Do not salt or flour the chicken ahead, and never cook it in advance; immediate service is part of the method.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)