Good Breading

There’s nothing like a crispy fried piece of chicken, pork chop or even veggie. What makes these ordinary foods so delectable? The secret is breadcrumbs. A crispy fried or baked food starts off with a good coating. You can use the store bought or something of your own creation , American or Japanese.

A good rule of thumb is to always have a canister of bread crumbs in your kitchen. You can use them to thicken soups (like the Piedmontese pane pesto) or a quick additive to a sparse stuffing. You can buy the commercial made which come plain or Italian style. Another option is making your own. Use dry Not stale bread . Stale bread will mean stale breadcrumbs and you don’t; want your food to taste that way. If the bread is to fresh just dry it out. A better solution is using lightly toasted Italian or French bread. Slice and bake for ten minute sin a 300 degree oven. Cool and then add to your food processor Store in an air tight container. I fyou want you can add garlic, or onion powder as well any herb such as, oregano or thyme to flavor them. Herb flavored bread crumbs are perfect in making veal Milanese , chicken or eggplant parmesan.
Another craze right now is breading with the Japanese panko breadcrumbs. These are a finer , spicer version of our American version. The coating is much crisper and crunchier and goes well coating chicken and especially pork . Panko breadcrumbs can come in a bag or jar. Again these are easy to make. Instead of bread you use Saltines or oyster crackers. These are crushed and mixed with thyme , chili powder as well as dried basil and black pepper. The next step is drying these in 325 degrees Farenheit oven fro 6 to 8 minutes. You can freeze these or store these in a jar.

Breadcrumbs, especially homemade are a nice way to liven up a meal. There’s nothing like a crunchy chicken leg or pork cop with a light coating of crumbs. Even better consider breaded vegetables for a nice appetizer or hors’ d’oeuvre. Bread crumbs whether American or th e Japanese panko liven up any fried dish.