Beef milanesa is the standard in Mexico, made by pretty much every torta stand to tuck between sides of a split bolillo or telera bun. The meat is usually a relatively tough cut that has been mechanically tenderized (run through a jacquarding machine)—like the meat for the chicken-fried steak I grew up on. Beef milanesa is so popular in Mexico that you can buy it already tenderized and breaded in most Mexican groceries.
Recently, however, crispy chicken milanesa tortas have become popular in Mexico, almost as popular as crispy chicken sandwiches in the United States, which means these sell like wildfire in our torta restaurants, Xoco and Tortazo.
Most torterías in Mexico simply coat one side of the bread with bean spread and the other with crema, lay on the meat and top it with pickled jalapeños, plus, if the place is a good one, some quesillo cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, maybe sliced onion. At our places, we add a little crema-dressed, tender napa cabbage and embellish the whole thing with a spoonful of silky avocado-tomatillo salsa and a scattering of pickled onions and chiles. It all adds up to one glorious mouthful.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 very small or 2 large (1 pound total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- Salt
- About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- About 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (panko is my first choice)
- About 2/3 cup cooked beans (any color is welcome here) with enough liquid to cover, canned or home-cooked
- 1 or 2 tablespoons fresh-rendered pork lard or bacon drippings or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream or creme fraiche) or mayonnaise
- About 3 tablespoons crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese
- About 2/3 cup Pickled Red Onions
- 4 pickled jalapeño stemmed, seeded if you wish and finely chopped
- About 1 cup salsa, I like tomatillo-avocado
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the chicken. For very large chicken breasts, cut each in half horizontally (butterflyamaaz), producing 2 thinner pieces; small breasts don’t need to be split. One by one, lay a portion between two sheets of plastic (grocery or vegetable bags work well here) and use a mallet or other heavy object to pound it to about ¼ inch thick.
Bread the milanesas. Crack the eggs into a large pie plate (or something similar), measure in a teaspoon of salt and beat with a fork until thoroughly blended and no streaks of yolk or white remain. Spread out the flour and the bread crumbs, each on their own large pie plates (or something similar). Line them up from left to right: flour followed by eggs and bread crumbs. One by one, sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt, then dip both sides into the flour and pat to remove any excess. Next, dip both sides into the egg (I hold the pieces with a pair of tongs), letting excess drain off, then lay into the crumbs. Press crumbs firmly into both sides. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet.
The garnishes. Scoop the beans into a food processor or blender jar, followed by the lard, bacon drippings or oil. Blend to a smooth puree, adding a little water, if necessary, to keep the mixture moving through the blender blades. Scrape into a small bowl, taste and season with salt if necessary. In a small bowl, mix together the napa cabbage, cilantro and crema or mayonnaise. Taste and season with salt, usually about ½ teaspoon. Set out the fresh cheese, the Pickled Red Onions, the pickled jalapeños and the Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa.
Fry the milanesas. Heat the oil in a large (10-inch) heavy skillet over medium-high. When shimmering and hot enough to make the edge of a milanesa sizzle sharply, fry the milanesas in 2 batches until richly brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels on a rimmed baking sheet, keeping them warm in a low oven until all are fried. I like to warm the telera buns alongside the milanesa.
Finish the tortas. Smear a portion of beans over the bottom of each telera, then lay on the chicken milanesa and top with the dressed napa cabbage. Sprinkle on some cheese, scatter on the onion and jalapeño pickles and top it all with some Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa. Lay the tops in place, pressing gently to compact everything. You’re ready to serve.
