Homemade Chicken Kiev with Garlic Herb Butter and Red Cabbage Slaw · Excerpt: Crunchy, golden chicken Kiev that’s actually stuffed with garlic butter, served with a fresh red cabbage and mint slaw and a quick red wine sauce
I have a real soft spot for chicken Kiev. It was a big treat when I was growing up, and making it from scratch turns out to be one of the most satisfying things you can do in a kitchen. The moment you cut into it and the garlic butter comes pouring out is just pure joy.
The secret to a Kiev that doesn’t leak is double crumbing and properly chilling everything. I serve it with a crunchy red cabbage and mint slaw to cut through all that butter, plus a little red wine sauce, because why not.
Serves: 2 (easily doubled) · Prep: 40 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling · Cook: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the garlic butter
- 80 g butter, softened
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp finely chopped tarragon or chives
- Zest of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt
For the Kiev
- 2 chicken breasts, skin off (ask your butcher for supremes with the wing bone on if you’d like the look in the photo)
- 50 g (⅓ cup) plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 120 g (2 cups) panko breadcrumbs, mixed with 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
For the red cabbage and mint slaw
- ¼ red cabbage, very finely shredded
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- A big handful each of mint and parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
For the red wine sauce
- 1 eschalot, finely chopped
- 185 ml (¾ cup) red wine
- 250 ml (1 cup) beef or chicken stock
- 1 tsp redcurrant jelly or honey
- 20 g cold butter
To serve: lemon halves
Method
- Make the garlic butter. Mash all the garlic butter ingredients together. Spoon it onto a piece of baking paper, roll it into a log and freeze it for 20 minutes until firm.
- Stuff the chicken. Use a small sharp knife to cut a deep pocket into the thick side of each breast. Don’t go all the way through. Cut the butter into 2 pieces, push one into each pocket and press the chicken closed around it.
- Double crumb. Set up three bowls: flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Coat each breast in flour, then egg, then crumbs. Dip it into the egg and crumbs a second time, pressing the crumbs on firmly, especially around the opening. Chill on a tray for at least 1 hour. This step is what keeps the butter in.
- Make the slaw. Toss the cabbage and onion with a good pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Whisk the oil, vinegar and honey together and toss through with the herbs just before serving.
- Make the sauce. Soften the eschalot in a knob of butter in a small saucepan. Add the wine and boil until reduced by two-thirds. Add the stock and jelly and simmer until it’s reduced and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the cold butter just before serving.
- Cook the Kievs. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Heat about 1 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the Kievs for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden all over. Move them to a tray and bake for 15–18 minutes until cooked through (74°C in the middle).
- Serve. Rest the Kievs for 2 minutes, then put them on plates with a pile of slaw, a lemon half and a pool of the red wine sauce.
Tips
- Chilling is everything. Cold butter inside and well-set crumbs outside mean no leaks.
- Warn people before they cut in! The butter is very hot.
- You can crumb the Kievs in the morning and keep them in the fridge until dinner.
