Crispiest "cracker-coated" pastured-raised chicken cutlets fried in grassfed ghee atop a bed of tossed greens. It's the gut-friendly version of a classic. Make it.
Imagine the juiciest, crispiest, tender chicken with the most intense savory herbs and spices. Butter chicken is a trendy dish that involves juicy, tender chicken encrusted in rich cracker crumbs butter for frying. Sounds good right? But like most classic recipes, butter chicken is a lectin bomb. First of all, crackers are full of gluten and bad fats. And most commercially raised chicken is grain fed. And, as Dr. Gundry so lovingly reminds us, you are what you eat ate. But not to worry. I've figured out a way to get that extra crispy cracker crunch and juicy buttery chicken without the gut-wrenching LECTINS. Read on for the recipe.
Before we get to the recipe, I'd like to acknowledge my Minnesota friend, Parker. He's the creator of Lovebird cereal, which is a VERY clean cereal made with ingredients so simple a caveman could gather them. Gut-friendly cassava flour, collagen, coconut, coconut oil, sweet potato, and sea salt are all that make up the unsweetened variety of Lovebird O's. The cereal is great to eat and cook with, but Parker is really the reason I developed this recipe.
The dad-trepreneur, and autoimmune warrior, approached me to enter in a healthy recipe contest using his cereal as an ingredient. Typically, I don't have time to enter bake-offs because I'm a food manufacturer myself, and I'm busy developing seasonal recipes for my Foodie Boxes. But when I heard what the prize was, I couldn't resist.
Parker is donating $1,000 to the children's cancer charity of the winner's choice. I love the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF) in Tampa, Florida. They are the highest rated cancer charity because they put so much of what's donated to actual cancer research. They've raise over $30 million for 28 child cancer projects that yield real results that help children with cancer.
So be sure to go to @eatlovebird on Instagram and like (1 pt), comment (2 pts), save (3 pts), and share (4 pts) the post with my photo and recipe of this extra crispy butter chicken. And tag your friends and ask them to do the same. The entry with the most points wins. If you'd like to donate to NPCF, well by all means, please do! Here's the link to this terrific organization. Click here.
If you need to purchase the cereal to make this recipe, Click here. Now, let's get to the recipe so you can enjoy this excellent LFG Extra Crispy Butter Chicken sooner than later.
The Recipe
LFG Extra Crispy Butter Chicken
1 Cup Lovebird Cracker Crumbs (step 1)
4 oz Pastured Chicken Cutlets ( 4 Tenders or 1 Breast cut into strips)
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
2 tsp Salt (divided)
3 Tbsp Cassava Flour
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 Pastured Eggs
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Grassfed Ghee
LFG Simple Spinach Salad
1 Large Handful Fresh Spinach
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Small Clove Garlic (minced)
Pinch Salt
Pinch Pepper
Instructions:
Step 1: Make the Lovebird "Cracker Crumbs"
Lay one unopened bag of Lovebird unsweetened O's and place on a hard surface like a counter top or chopping block. With a rolling pin, lightly tap the cereal to crush it into very coarse cracker meal. Keep it on the coarse side, for extra crispy chicken. Set aside.
Step 2: Pound the Chicken Cutlets
Place chicken cutlets onto a cutting surface. If using tenders, you'll want four pieces. If using a breast, simply slice it lengthwise into four strips. With a kitchen mallet, pound the chicken cutlets as thin as possible while still keeping them in one piece. It's cleaner to do this between two sheets of plastic. Once you get the desired thinness, set pounded cutlets aside.
Step 3: Make the Seasoned Cracker Coating
Into a brown lunch bag, add 1 cup of the Lovebird "cracker" crumbs, 2 tsp Herbs de Provence, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Fold the top of the bag and give it a shake to distribute the salt and herbs.
Step 4: Make the Egg Bath
In a medium bowl, whisk 2 eggs with 1 tablespoon lemon juice until frothy. Set aside.
Step 5: Coat the Chicken
Heat 1/2 cup of grassfed ghee in a skillet on medium heat. In a separate medium bowl, whisk cassava flour with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until mixed. Dredge chicken cutlets in the flour mixture until well coated. Quickly dunk them in the egg bath, and drop them into the cracker crumbs bag. Fold the bag closed and shake until all the cutlets are evenly coated.
Step 6: Fry the Chicken
Gently place the coated cutlets in a single layer in the hot ghee. Fry on one side for three minutes until golden brown and crispy. Then flip and fry the other side for another three minutes until chicken if fully cooked. Remove the fried chicken cutlets and cool on a paper towel.
To serve, slice the crispy butter chicken and serve over a bed of fresh spinach tossed in a simple lemon garlic dressing. Just whisk 3 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, and 1 small clove garlic (minced) with a pinch of salt and pepper until emulsified. Then toss with greens.
I love this springy dish with a glass of chilled Champagned.
ENJOY!