Breaded scallop, escalope panée in French, is a basic restaurant and home cooking dish. Here is my ultimate recipe with many tips and information.
In this article, I will give you the advice I learned when I was trained to be a chef and got the French CAP cuisine degree.
I will tell you how to bread escalopes, whether using veal or poultry (chicken or turkey), and give you the secrets and tips for crispy breading and tender meat. As well as the detailed recipe. Of course!
You’ll also see that you can vary the breadcrumbs and the seasonings.
Which meat to choose for breaded escalopes?
Escalope is the French word for the English “scallop” or the Italian “scallopina”. It’s a very thin piece of meat pounded flat, usually referring to veal.
This recipe and technique are generally associated with veal escalopes, often used in dishes such as escalope à la milanaise / Milanese scallopina or escalope à la viennoise / Wiener Schnitzel , which are Italian and Austrian recipes.
Your butcher will be able to select the best meat cut for you, or you can also ask for veal rump, veal knuckle, veal quasi, veal sirloin….
You can use thin slices of veal, as well as poultry, such as chicken or turkey breast sliced and flatten to be thin as an escalope. Possibly pork. In the case of pork, make sure the slices are not too thick. You may need to trim them if necessary.
Why and how to flatten meat
For perfect tender escalopes, the meat must be flattened.
Flattening meat breaks down certain muscle fibers, resulting in more tender meat.
There’s a specific cooking utensil called a meat tenderizer, which somewhat resembles a mallet.
You don’t need to invest in this kitchen utensil; you can use a saucepan or frying pan, tap meat with the bottom, or use a rolling pin.
Cover your escalopes with parchment paper before tapping them with your pan to avoid damaging the meat. If you buy your meat from the butcher, he’ll be happy to do this for you.
So, flatten the meat a bit, but not too forcefully; you don’t want to pound it too hard, as that could have the opposite effect.
How to make your homemade breadcrumbs?
The technique used here in French cuisine is called panure à l’anglaise, which literally means breaded the English way.
The ingredients you need:
- Flour
- whole eggs
- breadcrumbs
- oil and/or butter
Flour: it helps the egg adhere to the meat. You can season the flour with spices such as paprika, cumin, curry…
For a gluten-free version, omit the flour (some do even without the gluten free intention), or opt for a gluten-free flour such as rice flour, or a more easily digestible gluten such as spelt flour.
Eggs: Beat the eggs into an omelette. You can add a drop of milk, or a drizzle of neutral oil.
Note that at some point, you’ll season your meat with salt and pepper. You can do this either directly on the meat before coating it with flour or adding salt and pepper to the flour, the eggs, or possibly the breadcrumbs. I personally prefer adding them to the eggs.
Which breadcrumbs to choose?
You can use store-bought breadcrumbs (in France, there are chapelure sold in most supermarkets), or you can make your own homemade breadcrumbs from leftover bread.
Use dry hard bread and simply grind it more or less finely in a blender or food processor. Grind to the desired fineness.
The Japanese panko used for tempura is very light and crispy. I like to mix half homemade breadcrumbs and half panko.
You can also use chips, cornflakes, Swedish crispbread, etc. It’s of course possible to make gluten-free homemade breadcrumbs with gluten-free bread leftovers.
Flavor your breadcrumbs with spices, a bot of cheese like Parmesan, fresh or dried herbs…
For example, I use coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley in my breadcrumbs to prepare breaded fish. Try it, it’s great.
In what order should you proceed for successful breading?
1 Flour, 2 egg, 3 breadcrumb
I’ve long needed to double-check the correct order in which to prepare the escalopes.
What should you start with? First, the flour. Then, the beaten eggs. Finally, the breadcrumbs.
You can repeat the process again for a thicker breading: 1/ flour, 2/ eggs, 3/ breadcrumbs, 4/ eggs, 5/ breadcrumbs.
Finally, cook the escalopes
Use a non-stick frying pan if you want your escalopes to hold together well.
Cook your breaded escalopes in a hot frying pan with a mix of butter and oil.
The butter makes escalopes crispier, while the oil prevents the butter from burning at too high a temperature. Be generous with the butter; your escalopes will be even tastier.
Cook for 5 minutes on one side, flip the meat, add a little more butter if necessary, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes on the other side until the meat is cooked through. Cooking time obviously depends on thickness.
Origin of breaded scallop
Even though escalope panée is a classic of French cooking repertoire, this recipe is actually not a French invention. It has its origins in another European country. This not French cuisine first but possibly Italian with the Milanese escalope or Austrian with the Viennese escalope /Wiener Schnitzel?
I read that the Lombards, i.e., the Italians, began breading their meat in the 12th century, thus creating the Milanese escalope, escalope à la milanaise.
The story goes that in the early 19th century when the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was part of the Austrian Empire, Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky led the Austrian army in the region. He reported the local situation to his new emperor, Ferdinand, and the ruling Habsburg family.
One day, running out of information in one of his reports, his aide-de-camp is said to have suggested that he describe a local Lombardy dish, giving him the recipe for Cotoletta alla Milanese, a breaded schnitzel.
When he returned to Vienna at the end of his mission, he was surprised to taste a Viennese escalope (Wiener Schnitzel) very similar to the escalope milanese. He discovered that the capital of Austria had adopted this dish, which had become very fashionable in Austrian cuisine.
And like many culinary stories, another Austrian version says that schnitzel Milanese dates back to the 16th century.
I haven’t found anything reliable about the adoption of breaded escalopes in France by the French.
There are a few differences between Milanese escalope, Viennese escalope, and our French escalope panée. If I’m right, the Viennese escalope has milk in its breading to make it soft.
There are variants of this breaded meat recipe in many cuisines in the world: Hungarian, Japanese, Israeli…
Variations and substitutes
As explained above, have fun with breadcrumbs, spices and herbs.
Use this breaded escalope recipe to make a cordon bleu. Add cheese and ham to a large turkey or chicken cut, fold it in half, and proceed in the same way for the breading method explained here, and you’ve got a delicious homemade cordon bleu.
You can serve breaded meats with any side dish. The day I took those photos, I served a Provençal tian with summer seasonal vegetables. The choice is yours: potato gratin with green salad, pasta with sauce, sautéed vegetables…
Remember to serve with lemon; it’s good with (lots of!) lemon juice.
French breaded escalope
Ingredients
- 4 escalopes veal turkey, or chicken, approximately 150g each
- 4 tablespoons flour possibly more if needed
- 2 tablespoons eggs
- 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs possibly more if needed
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 knob butter large knob
- salt
- Pepper freshly grounded
Optional:
- 1 lemon for garnish
- spices or herbs, see notes
Instructions
Prepare the Meat
- If you couldn’t get very thin escalopes, trim them if necessary.
- If your butcher hasn’t done it, flatten the escalopes with a meat tenderizer. Alternatively, place a sheet of parchment paper over the meat to avoid damaging it and flatten it using the bottom of a saucepan or a rolling pin.
Prepare breading
- Set up three plates on your workspace.
- In the first plate, place 4 tablespoons of flour.
- In the second, crack and beat 2 eggs into an omelette. Season with salt and pepper.
- In the third, put 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
Bread the escalopes
- Before starting, heat a generous knob of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick frying pan.
- One by one, using a fork, coat each escalope first on each side with flour. Tap off excess flour.
- Then, dip the escalope on each side into the beaten egg.
- Finally, coat the escalope on both sides with breadcrumbs, ensuring it’s well covered.
Cook
- Place the escalopes in the frying pan when the butter is melted and the oil is hot. Cook for 5 minutes on the first side.
- Flip the escalopes, add more butter if needed, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes on the other side until the meat is cooked. Cooking time depends on the thickness of your escalopes.
Serve:
- Serve immediately with lemon slices.
Notes
Bon appétit !
If you enjoy dishes with breadcrumbs, you might be tempted by my savory crumble with fish and vegetables.
Do you have an imprint book of your recipes?
Bonjour Sandra, No cook book yet, I’m sorry. Hopefully some day I will find and editor. Would e-books be interesting ?