CHICKEN KIEV, ASHTON STYLE # 148

Chicken Kiev was possibly invented in the Unkranian of  Russia. It could also have been invented in Moscow by a Russian chef William Pokhlebkin.  One uses boneless chicken breast that you can thin by putting each breast in a plastic gal bag and pound a little without breaking the meat.  You can cut a stick
of butter into 4 to 8 pieces that should be cold and roll them into dried taragon.  You then place one piece in the middle of the breast sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the inside and then fold the meat completely covering the butter and use toothpicks to keep the meat together.  You then dip each folded breast in an egg wash and then in flour and then back into egg wash and then roll it in either bread or panko crumbs and set aside until all the chicken has been completely covered.  you then pour the oil into a large fry pan to a moderately hot flame (350 degrees) and then fry two pieces together, flipping them every once in a while until they are golden brown.  At this point you may wish to remove the toothpicks but be careful not to allow the butter to seap through. A variation of Chicken Kiev is Cordon Bleu which is ham and slices of cheese wrapped together and put into the middle of the chicken breast instead of butter. The following is the recipe that I and my wife Dottie have used for some 40 years.  This is a great recipe to impress company and still not that expensive.
INGREDIENTS:
     4 to 8 boneless large chicken breasts
     1 stick of cold salted stick of butter
     2 cups of flour
     4 tsp of dried tarragon
     1 tsp of salt
     1/tsp of white pepper
     2 cups of corn or canola oil
DIRECTIONS:
     1. place one piece chicken in a
        gal plastic bag at a time and using
        a meat mallot pound the meat slightly
        to flatten the chicken without tearing the
        meat.
     2. cut the stick of cold butter in half and then cut
         in half again and then cut once more and
        you will have 8 pieces of butter
.    3.whip 3 eggs with a wire whisk until smooth
     4.  role the butter in the tarragon until they are
        completely covered
     5. place each piece of  butter in the middle of
        the chicken breast
     6. lightly sprinkle the inside of the chicken breast
         with salt and pepper
     7. fold the chicken breast over and then fold the
         ends over so that the butter is completly covered
     8. using toothpicks, stick them in the meat to keep
         the meat together
     9. dip each folded chicken breast in the egg wash and
         then into the flour until they are completely covered
    10/ dip them into the egg wash again and then into the
          bread crumbs or panko crumbs and set aside
    11. saute 2 completed Kiev pieces into the preheated
          oil, turn them every so often and fry them about 10
          to 15 minutes until golden brown
    12 at this point you may remove the toothpicks if you
         wish and set aside until all chicken is done and serve