Chicken Cutlets Pojarski With Paprika Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

CHICKEN CUTLETS
2 large chicken breasts, skinned and boned
salt
white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
11 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 - 2 cups breadcrumbs
PAPRIKA SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt
white pepper
1 tablespoon cognac
1/4 cup sour cream

Preparation

CHICKEN CUTLETS:
Chill a medium sized mixing bowl in the freezer.
Place the boned chicken meat on a board and chop thoroughly with a sharp knife until fine or grind the meat in a meat grinder. (You can use a food processor for this but you must take extreme care not to over-process the meat as the texture of your cooked cutlets will be too heavy.).
Add the meat to the chilled bowl. Add salt and white pepper to taste, the nutmeg and 5 tablespoons of the butter, melted. Mix well. Return the bowl and mixture to the freezer to chill once more while you prepare the dredging station. Do not freeze.
Season the flour with salt and white pepper and place on a length of wax paper. Break the egg into a pie plate and beat with the vegetable oil and water. Place the bread crumbs on another length of wax paper.
Divide the chilled mixture into 6 to 8 portions and shape each into a 1/2 inch thick cutlet. Dip one cutlet at a time into the flour, then in egg, then in bread crumbs. Press the crumbs gently into the cutlets then chill them until ready to cook. ( The cutlets may be made several hours ahead to this point. Keep cutlets refrigerated until ready to cook.).
Heat the remaining butter in a large skillet and careful add the cutlets. Cook until golden brown on one side then turn and cook on the other.
Serve with the Paprika Sauce.
PAPRIKA SAUCE:
Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan and cook the onion until wilted. Sprinkle with the paprika, flour and thyme, stirring. Stir in the chicken stock, using a whisk and simmer about 3 minutes. (The sauce may be made several hours ahead up until this point.).
Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice, salt and white pepper to taste and the cognac.
Strain the sauce through a sieve. Return to the heat and stir in the remaining butter and the sour cream. Heat the sauce through but do not bring to a boil.