Memorize Michael Symon's Clever Code Word For Breading Fried Foods

Few things are tastier than a well-made fried chicken cutlet, especially when you whip your own up at home and can control your ingredients. You can cut down on your oil, for example, or use gluten-free bread crumbs. The options are seemingly infinite on the road to crispy-outside, juicy-inside perfection. But are they too infinite? One fast and easy way to bread chicken cutlets, for example, calls for pounding ground chicken right into the bread crumbs, without a need for eggs. And even when aiming for a more mainstream route, it's hard to remember: Do you need both flour and bread crumbs? Which comes first? Does the order matter? 

Expert chef Michael Symon is here to help with a handy word so you can nail breaded and fried chicken cutlets every time. You'll always know what ingredients you need and in what order to utilize them with this one word, no recipes or internet searches required.

According to an Instagram post shared by Symon, the word is "February." Confused? Think of it as "FEB-ruary." "F" stands for flour, "E" for egg, and "b" for bread crumbs or breading. It's such an easy term to keep in mind, and promises to keep your chicken-breading on track. That "FEB" helps you build a beautifully crisp breading that stays on your chicken as it fries: The flour creates an even coating for the egg wash to stick to, and the bread crumbs stick to the egg.

Within that "FEB" process, you can and should think about other flavors you can introduce. Symon recommends seasoning all of the elements of your dredge. Once you've pounded your chicken breasts out and have three wide, shallow bowls of flour, egg yolk, and bread crumbs, sprinkle the meat and each of the three bowls with salt and pepper. You can also take a cue from Symon and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs. Other mix-ins that would create a complex and flavorful crust include garlic powder, dried oregano or basil, red pepper flakes, rosemary, or thyme. 

Fry your breaded cutlets in olive oil on a hot pan so the coating doesn't get soggy while it's warming up — you want it to start cooking right away. Use tongs to place the chicken away from you so you don't get splashed with fiery oil. Cook the cutlets at low-medium heat until the crust looks golden-brown, and then flip them. If you followed the "FEB-ruary" method, your cutlets should end up with a perfectly even, crispy, crunchy crust that's studded with nutty cheese and spicy, herbaceous seasonings. Best of all, this method works just as beautifully with other pan-crisped delights, like fried pickle chips and homemade gooey mozzarella sticks. For one last bit of Symon wisdom, balance the richness of a fried dish like chicken cutlets with a bright, fresh, leafy salad that bursts with bright acidity and fresh herbaceousness.