Title: Cheese-Fried Chicken Breasts
Categories: Poultry Main
Yield: 4 Servings
| 1/2 | c | Flour |
| | | Flour for dusting chicken |
| 4 | oz | Dark beer or stout |
| 2 | | Egg whites |
| 1/2 | ts | Salt; or as desired |
| 1/4 | ts | Ground black pepper |
| 1 | lg | Onion; finely diced |
| 1 | tb | Cooking oil |
| 6 | | Plum tomatoes; -=OR=- Canned peeled tomatoes, drained |
| 2 | | Dried poblano chili peppers =OR=- |
| 1 | tb | -Chili powder |
| 1 | ts | Ground cumin |
| 1/4 | c | Whipping cream |
| 2 | lg | Boneless chicken breasts split |
| 4 | sl | Sharp jack or Cheddar cheese |
| | | Salt and pepper |
| 1/2 | c | Frying oil |
PLACE FLOUR IN A MIXING BOWL and slowly pour in the beer while mixing. Add
the egg white, pepper and desired salt and mix well. Taste for salt and
pepper and add if desired. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes
before using. Combine onions and oil in a small Dutch oven or casserole,
place in the oven and turn temperature to 375F. If using fresh plum
tomatoes, bring a pot of water to the boil, plunge in the plum tomatoes and
cook a minute or so, until the skins crack. Drain tomatoes and when they
are cool enough to handle, peel them. Discard peels, cut tomatoes in half
crosswise and squeeze out seeds. Add tomatoes to the Dutch oven. Remove
stems from the dried chili peppers and remove the seeds. Add peppers to the
Dutch oven. Add cumin, cream and salt as desired. Cook 30 minutes, remove
from the oven and scrape the contents into a blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth and set aside. Meanwhile, place a piece of cheese under
the skin of each breast, dredge each breast in flour and shake off the
excess. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat on the stove. When
the oil is hot enough for frying (350F), dip each breast in the beer batter
and let the excess run off. Place skin-side down in the oil and fry until
golden. Turn and fry other side, about 1 minute per side. Remove breasts
from the oil as they are done, drain on paper towels and transfer to a
baking dish. Place the chicken breasts in a preheated 375F oven for 15
minutes. Place tomato sauce in a saucepan and reheat. (If the mixture is
too thin, place it in a saucepan over high heat and boil down.) Pour the
sauce onto a platter and arrange the chicken breasts on top.