Over the last few decades one of the most loved dishes from my catering menu has been Chicken Parmigiana. I've often wanted to put the recipe away because it seems a bit dated, however, the humble dish is requested so often it has managed to stay relevant for decades. In addition to it's wide appeal with guests, Chicken Parm is easy to prepare and can be prepped in advance to save time on party day.
An appetizer version can be made by cutting the breast into strips, making it easy for a diner to manage on a small plate. Substituting a white sauce for the marinara is a tasty variation you can try.
Chicken Parmigiana
Lightly breaded chicken cutlets topped with creamy mozzarella cheese and served with homemade marinara sauce. The all purpose marinara sauce works well for many other dishes.
Serves 100
100 5 to 6 ounce chicken breasts boneless skinless
8 cups flour
15 eggs
¾ cup water
16 cups Italian bread crumbs
7 pounds mozzarella cheese one ounce slices
2 pounds parmesan cheese fresh grated
Butterfly chicken breast, cover with plastic wrap and pound gently with a meat mallet to an even ½ inch thickness. Whisk eggs with water.
Dredge each chicken breast in flour, next in beaten egg mixture and finally press into bread crumbs (discard all unused flour, egg and bread crumbs when finished).
Add ⅛ cup of canola oil in a large skillet over high heat and working in batches, fry each breast turning to brown (about 3 minutes per side). Add additional oil as needed. Place breaded chicken breast on a sheet pan.
Put one spoonful of sauce on each chicken breast, cover with a slice of Mozzarella cheese.
Put ½ the marinara sauce on the bottom of baking dishes or hotel pans (it will take at least 4 full pans for 100). Layer chicken breasts (shingle style), ladle remaining marinara sauce along the edges in the pan. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the chicken. Bake in oven until internal temp reads 165 °F (about 25 to 30 minutes).
Marinara Sauce
2 cups olive oil
4 yellow onions chopped
2 carrots peeled chopped
½ cup garlic minced
⅛ cup black pepper fresh ground
¼ cup red pepper flakes
4 cups red wine
1 cup basil fine chopped
½ cup Italian parsley fine chopped
¼ cup oregano fine chopped
¼ cup thyme fine chopped
3 gallons canned crushed tomatoes
¼ to ¾ cup salt
½ to 1 cup sugar
Heat oil in a stock pot (or three 5 quart pots) cook onions, garlic and carrots until onions are soft add black pepper, red pepper and wine. Cook until wine is reduced by half.
Add tomatoes and herbs, bring to simmer and cook for an hour.
Add some of the sugar and salt to taste. Simmer on low for 1 to 2 more hours. Add water or more wine if too thick and additional salt or sugar if needed.