Chefs and cooks will agree that using fresh ingredients in your meals adds to the taste. This month, Chef Walter Wright prepares a chicken dish featuring a particular nut that is easily found here in north Florida and south Georgia….
Wash and dry off chicken breast then lightly pound each one evenly until it is ¼ in or ½ inch thick. If it is thicker it will take longer to cook.
In a food processer add pecans and pulse until the majority of the pecans are less than a ¼ inch in size (pea size). Remove pecans from the food processer.
Season the All Purpose Flour with salt and pepper. Then dredge chicken in flour, shaking off any extra.
Next, dip chicken in egg wash and then into chopped pecans. Be sure to pack in the pecans so that it sticks to the chicken breast.
In a hot, shallow fry pan, add enough oil to come up halfway on the chicken breast. Heat oil to a temperature around 325 degrees. When the oil is ready, place the chicken in the pan and cook until golden brown; then turn chicken over and cook the other side in the oil. Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees it is finished.
Footnotes
Side note: If the oil is too hot and the pecan coating turns golden brown or darker too fast you may remove the chicken from the oil and finish cooking in the oven at 350 degrees (325 degrees for thicker breasts) until the chicken is fully cooked / reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.