The pioneering chef shares his updated Chicken Parm recipe from his fourth and final installment.
Chef Alton Brown is many things at once . He has the warmth and the charm ofChef Massimo Bottura , and the sass and humor ofGordon Ramsay . He is exact likeHeston Blumenthal , but also playful likeJamie Oliver . It ’s hard to describe the culinary style of a chef whose cookery school of thought sways between “ scientific ” on one terminal , and “ cook with your heart ” on the other .
This calendar month , his best - selling cookbook titledGood Eatsis debuting“The terminal Years”—its 4th and final instalment . While some writers might sense a sensory faculty of mourning over the final chapter , Brown exhibit signature nonchalance . “ Oh , I finger just fine , ” he tells us . “ I mean , as long as I ’m doing food - related task , Good Eatswill always be a part of the mix because that ’s me . I am essentiallyGood Eats , or maybe it ’s the other way around . ”
Long before celebrity chef influenced us on social media , and certainly before TikTok and Reels get them hopping onto viral cooking movement as a direction to leave a target , Brown was a pioneering personality in the nutrient human race . He start in 1999 with his showGood Eatsand his first bookI’m Just Here For The Foodreleased in 2002 . The former ran successfully for 14 class and he has since published eight dear - sell cookbooks .
Alton Brown|Photo by Cole Cassell
“ I never paid tending to style , ” he enjoin . “ I ’ve always made the shows and written the books that I require to make . I ’ve been fortunate to have clients who left me to do that . ”
From all of his four cookbook from theGood Eatsseries , Brown admits that the last one was the hardest to put together . “ This new volume contains a great deal of original food photography as well as behind the scenes photos , thing that we just did n’t have for the first three Holy Writ , ” he says . “ There are also more representative and in - depth explanations . Honestly , the first three Koran were write specifically for mass who had actually see the show , whereas I assumed with this book that they had n’t . ”
It ’s hard to describe the culinary style of a chef whose cooking ism sways between “ scientific ” on one end , and “ cooking with your heart and soul ” on the other .
Alton Brown’s Chicken Parm|Photo courtesy of Brainfood Industries
The fourth has several formula such as lasagna , shrimp cocktail , and chili that never seem on TV , which is a first for anyGood Eatsbook . “ They had to be tackled differently and I am specially proud of with it , ” he tell me .
So that the last cookbook stays within the family of the series , Brown has set up it like all the otherGood Eatsbooks , chronologically running from the first time of year of reloads to the last , “ With the two season of ‘ The Return ’ laced in . So if you ’re after a particular recipe , good to seek the index finger . Also , there ’s a lot of fillip material and footer … sometimes the best poppycock is in the footnotes , ” he promises .
To keep recipes relevant month after they have been aired , he follows a certain cognitive process of revisit recipe and making them relevant for contemporaneous usage . “ It ’s atwo - forked mental process . First , it ’s about re - evaluate the actual educational activity , that is the write book of instructions of the recipe , and then re - assess the resulting dish . Sometimes , new research emerge , or sure ingredient become more readily usable and that can exchange thing , too . ” This also applies to when lover do n’t like a lulu anymore , “ Or when I do n’t wish it ! ”
One classic that adhere around is hisChicken Parm , which first appeared in season one of his show . Brown say that the Italian - American classic has alas long been plagued by swampy breading , uninventive sauce , and melted cheese that change by reversal gummy . But his method , using San Marzano tomatoes and a crispy coating , guarantees all the idealistic texture and flavors .
Alton Brown’s Chicken Parm Recipe
payoff : 4 helping
factor :
Red SauceYield : 5 loving cup
• ¼ loving cup extra - virtuous olive oil• 6 large cloves garlic + 2½ tablespoons minced• 4 anchovy filets• ½ teaspoonful red capsicum flakes• 2 tooshie peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes , drain , with the liquid reserved• 2 teaspoons cosher salt• 1 ( 2 - inch ) Parmesan rind
Chicken Parm• 2 boneless , skinless chicken breasts• 2 teaspoonful cosher salt• ⅔ cupful all - design flour• 2 large eggs , beaten• 1½ cups common salt - and - acetum potato chips• ¾ cup plain breadcrumbs• 2 teaspoonful dry out parsley• 1½ teaspoons dried oregano• 1½ teaspoonful ail powder• 4 tablespoonful unsalted butter• 2 tablespoon excess - virginal olive oil , plus more if needed• 1 cup Red Sauce• ½ cup low - moisture mozzarella cheese , grated• ½ cup Italian - style semi mild Fontina cheeseflower , grated• invigorated Petroselinum crispum , hack , for garnish
Directions:1 . go by make the sauce . stir up the oil in a medium saucepan over average heat . Add the garlic and Captain James Cook , stirring oft , until it begins to brown , about 2 minutes . lend the anchovy and red pepper flakes and continue cooking , breaking up the anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon , until they dissolve into the oil , about 1 minute.2 . tally the tomato and salt . Break up the tomatoes with the spoon , then submerge the Parmesan rind in the sauce . slim down the heat to medium - humiliated and simmer , stirring occasionally , until the sauce is au sec , or almost dry , about 1 hour.3 . angle out and throw away the Parmesan rind . The sauce is quick for immediate consumption , or you may cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge . It freezes exceedingly well.4 . To make the volaille parm , ensure that the breast pieces are really flimsy , so split them butterfly - style with a sharp knife , only cut all the way through to produce two pieces ( four sum ) . Then pound them softly until they ’re evenly thinned to around ⅛ inch.5 . trim down each plank into six to eight even pieces . time of year these with saltiness on both sides , plaza on a conducting wire chill single-foot pose inside a one-half sail genus Pan , and refrigerate for 30 minutes.6 . Set up the breading station : The flour goes in the first loaf cooking pan or Proto-Indo European Sn ; the beaten eggs in the s . Finely break down the tater chips ( yes , with your fingers ) into the third , and stir in the breadcrumb , dry parsley , oregano , and garlic powder . countersink the second clean wire wheel inside its half sheet cooking pan nearby to hold the bread pieces.7 . Retrieve the chicken and blot well with paper towels . Dredge the chicken first in the flour ( shake off the excess ) , then sink in the beaten testis ( again , drain the overabundance ) , and lastly coat with the breadcrumbs before placing on the prepared rack ( do n’t shake off any excess ) . Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.8 . Meanwhile , place an oven wheel in the top third of the oven and crank the broiler to high . Line another sheet pan with paper towels and top with an inverted cooling rack . Have it put up by for the cooked chicken to land on.9 . Place the sauté pan over medium hotness and contribute 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoonful of the oil colour to it . When the butter foams , add half of the breaded chicken to the pan , but do n’t overcrowd . Cook , undisturbed except to turn it , until laconic and golden brown , about 2 minutes per side , adding more oil as postulate . Transfer the golden slice to the rack , wipe out the genus Pan , and repeat with the remain butter , oil , and chicken.10 . Spread three - quarters of the ruby-red sauce in the bottom of a broiler - good enameled cast - Fe pan and broil until the sauce ripple and begins to caramelize , about 2 minutes.11 . off the pan from the oven and format the chicken art object in a single layer on top of the sauce . Dot with the remain sauce , leaving simple spot to keep back crispiness . Scatter with the mozzarella and fontina.12 . recall to the broiler just until the cheese is champagne and beginning to brown , 1 to 1½ minutes . Garnish with the overbold parsley and dish up live .
