Sometimes you want to go all-out for dinner and prepare a restaurant-grade meal. Thankfully, this excellent recipe for a cheesy, crispy, and flavorful “Best Chicken Parmesan” from Bon Appétit will set you up for a successful, four-star dish that’s sure to please.

Ingredients for Chicken Parmesan:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3 lb. total)
• 2 28-oz. Cans of tomato purée
• 12 oz. low-moisture mozzarella
• 8 oz. of pre-grated Parmesan
• 13 garlic cloves (8 for tomato sauce & 5 for chicken)
• 4 large eggs
• 4 cups of Japanese panko breadcrumbs
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of double-concentrated tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
• 3-4 cups of Vegetable oil for frying
• ½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• ⅓ cup of fresh lemon juice
• 1 medium onion, finely-chopped
• 3 ½ teaspoons of fine salt or 2 ¼ teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of onion powder
• ¾ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions for Chicken Parmesan:

1. You’ll begin this recipe by starting with preparing the tomato sauce. You’ll do this by heating your extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven, or alternatively, you can use another heavy pot over medium heat. After the oil is heated, you’ll add your onion and 8 cloves of garlic and begin to cook them while stirring often. Continue this just until the onions and garlic are softened but not browned (about 5 minutes), at which point you’ll add in your tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook and stir until the paste is slightly darkened in color. In fact, the paste should begin to fry in olive oil.
2. Add in your tomato purée, salt, and sugar, and bring it all to a simmer. Then, partially cover the pot with a lid in order to avoid splattering, reduce your heat so that the sauce is kept at a very bare simmer, and cook it while still stirring occasionally until it’s slightly thickened. This should take approximately 40-50 minutes.
3. Next, you’ll begin the chicken assembly by placing 1 chicken breast at a time onto a cutting board so that a short side of the chicken is facing towards you. Then, as you hold a chef’s knife parallel to the breast, slice along the middle of a long side of the chicken in order to make a slit. Continue to slice until you are about ½” away from the other side. Then, open up the chicken breast like a book and place it between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. You’ll then pound the breast with a meat mallet or rolling pin until the chicken is about ⅓” thick. Ensure that the chicken is super thin so that it will keep from overheating. Repeat this step for the remaining chicken breasts.
4. Combine your five garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil in a large baking dish. Then, season your chicken cutlets all over with salt; you can use about ¾ teaspoons of Diamond Crystal or a ½ teaspoon of Morton koshersalt per cutlet. Afterward, add the cutlets to your marinade while turning the chicken over to fully coat. Then, let them sit for at least 20 minutes but not longer than 1 hour.
5. At this point, you’ll make a dredging station, for which you’ll whisk your eggs, garlic powder, salt, and about 2 tablespoons of water in a large shallow bowl such as a cake pan or pie plate. Then in another large shallow bowl, place your panko breadcrumbs, and place your flour into a third. Whisk the remaining salt into the flout, mixing it together.
6. As you work with one chicken cutlet at a time, take a cutlet out of the marinade and let any excess drip off. Then, dip the cutlet into the egg wash, dredge it in panko (pressing firmly to adhere), gently shake off the excess, and place the cutlet onto a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat this process for the other cutlets, and chill for at least 20 minutes but not longer than 8 hours.
7. Then, set a wire rack inside a second large rimmed baking sheet, and grate your mozzarella on the large hotels of a box cheese grater into a medium bowl. Add some Parmesan cheese, and toss to combine. Next, you’ll pour your vegetable oil into a large high-sided heave skillet so that the oil comes up 1” on all sides. Heat the oil over medium until an instant-read thermometer registers at 400°F.
8. Working in batches to avoid over-crowding the pan and returning the oil to 400°F after each batch, you’ll very carefully lower the cutlets into the skillet with tongs and cook them until they’re each golden brown. This should take approximately 2 minutes per side. Afterward, transfer the cutlets to the prepared rack and season each with salt.
9. Now you’ll heat your boiler and arrange the cutlets so that they are sitting side by side in 2 large baking dishes.Generously spoon some sauce over each cutlet and put the remaining sauce into baking dishes around the cutlets. Cover them with your cheese mixture and broil just until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and browned in spots. This should only take about 4 minutes- at which point you’ll remove this chicken from the broiler, let them cool slightly, and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Notes for Chicken Parmesan:

• You can make the tomato sauce up to two days ahead of time. Follow steps 1-2 above, let it cool, transfer the sauce to an airtight container, cover, and chill until you need it for the chicken.
• When your chicken cutlets are marinating, the lemon juice will turn the chicken flesh opaque, but that’s to be expected.

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