Crispy Chicken Paillard with Summer Salad

The pounding is where I can get in trouble. I’m downstairs with a mallet, I think I’m being quiet, but apparently it sounds like a jackhammer. Whoops! A kitchen towel over the chicken helps muffle it. Totally worth it though, after a long summer day, taking a little aggression out on a chicken breast is its own reward.

I’ve made this dish for the kids several times this summer and they now ask for it regularly. Serve it with a batch of air fryer baby potatoes and a peach crumble for dessert and you’ve got the whole summer meal covered.

The Ingredients

• Chicken breasts: Boneless, skinless. You’ll pound these thin yourself, so no need to buy pre-cut cutlets unless you want to.
• Flour, eggs, and panko: The classic three-step breading. Panko is the key to a light, extra-crispy crust. Regular breadcrumbs work but won’t be as crunchy.
• Cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, and corn: The summer salad. I cut the corn straight off the cob and leave it raw. Fresh summer corn is sweet enough that it needs no cooking at all!
• Cilantro, lemon juice, and olive oil: These pull the salad together with a fresh, bright finish.

How to Make Crispy Chicken Paillard

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1. Pound the chicken. Place a chicken breast between two sheets of parchment and pound with a mallet until it’s about 1/3 inch thick and even all over. Repeat with the rest, then season each with a little salt.

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2. Set up your breading station. Put the flour, whisked eggs, and panko in three separate shallow dishes.

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3. Bread the chicken. Dredge each breast in flour, then egg, then panko, coating both sides. Repeat with all the breasts.

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4. Fry until golden. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes, then flip and cook the second side until golden and cooked through (165°F), about 3 to 4 minutes more. Don’t crowd the pan. Cook in batches and add a little more oil as needed so the crust stays crisp.

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5. Make the salad. Toss the tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and cilantro with the lemon juice, olive oil, and remaining salt.

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6. Serve. Rest the chicken on a cooling rack for a minute so it stays crisp, then plate it and top with spoonfuls of the summer salad. Add a lemon wedge if you like.

Can You Make Chicken Paillard in the Air Fryer?

Yes! If you’d rather skip the skillet, the air fryer gives you a crispy crust with less oil. Bread the chicken the same way, spritz with some oil, then air fry at 400°F for 16 to 18 minutes, until golden and crispy. You’ll likely need to work in two batches to serve four, so the pieces aren’t crowded.

Tips for the Crispiest Paillard

• Pound evenly. An even 1/3-inch thickness means the chicken cooks through at the same rate without drying out.
• Rest on a rack, not paper towels. A cooling rack keeps air moving around the crust so the bottom stays crisp instead of going soggy.

Make Ahead and Storage

You can bread the chicken up to the morning of and keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to fry, which makes dinner even faster.

Store leftover cooked chicken in the fridge for up to 3 days. To bring back the crisp, reheat it in a 350°F oven or the air fryer rather than the microwave, which softens the crust. Keep the salad separate and add it fresh.