In fifth grade I often threw out the lunch my mother prepared for me, snuck out of school, and bought a chicken parmigiana hero at the pizzeria across the street. Truancy has its virtues.
Nowadays, if you gave me that hero I would throw it out.
An Italian-American Classic Reborn for the Whole Foods Generation
The chicken parmigiana (some call it chicken parmesan) hero exemplifies one of America's greatest talents — take something unhealthy (chicken milanese) and make it even more unhealthy — but tastier too!
This Italian American classic tastes better at home than out because what matters most is ingredient quality, not technique. Most pizzerias use cheap ingredients, and the number of higher end Italian restaurants that serve chicken parmigiana in a hero or even plated without the bread grows smaller with each passing year.
But fear not. After four years of testing, I've finally perfected this dish. Tony Soprano would approve.
Below you'll find my recipe. One warning — this sandwich has an insane number of calories — 1,100 (about the same as two Big Macs or a pint of ice cream).
Ingredients For Chicken Parmigiana Hero
Chicken Breast Cutlets (about 6 ounces per hero)
Home preparation means you can buy quality chicken and cut out any fat and veins. I stopped eating these heroes in pizzerias because I would inevitably bite into something unpleasant.
Buffalo Mozzarella in Water
Again, no pizzeria uses high-quality mozzarella. Most grocery stores sell buffalo mozzarella nowadays.
Sclafani Pizza Sauce
Herein lies the not-so-secret secret to great chicken parmigiana. You need a thick puree sauce. Just as you don't want sauce rolling off your pizza, you don't want it rolling off your chicken. Pasta sauce won't cut it. You need pizza sauce. That's why pizzerias use their pizza sauce for these sandwiches. The best I've found is Sclafani. Though not technically pizza sauce, Vincent's Original Sauce works in a pinch.
Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
Eggs
You need about 1 egg for every 12 ounces of chicken cutlets.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (optional)
Despite its name, don't use parmigiano-reggiano. It'll overwhelm the other ingredients.
Seedless Italian Hero Roll
About 9 inches in length, you might have a difficult time finding these rolls if you don't live near an Italian community. That's okay because you really can't go wrong with any Italian bread with a soft or medium texture. French bread and snootier Italian breads such as ciabatta won't work because they're too brittle for a second trip into an oven. You want old school Italian bread for this hero.
Preparation of Chicken Parmigiana Hero
After trimming away the fat and veins, pound the cutlets very thin. Sprinkle some salt onto the chicken. Whisk the eggs. Dunk each cutlet in the eggs and coat both sides well with the bread crumbs.
Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it up. Fry the chicken cutlets on both sides until golden brown. Set aside on a paper towel.
Dice 2-3 ounces of mozzarella per hero. Set aside.
Heat up some pizza sauce in the microwave. Set aside.
Preheat the broiler to about 500 degrees.
Slice the hero roll lengthwise and place it open-faced in a broiler pan.
Depending on their size, place 1, 1.5, or 2 chicken cutlets in the bottom half of the hero roll. You want just one layer of chicken so trim the cutlets if necessary to make them fit.
Spread the sauce on top of the chicken and also on the inside of the top half of the hero roll to prevent it from burning. If you wish, sprinkle some grated romano cheese on top of the chicken. Place the diced mozzarella on top of the chicken. It'll spread as it melts so leave some gaps.
Place the hero under the broiler and watch it carefully. Adjust the flame as needed. The bread should crisp just as the cheese develops a few golden streaks. Remove the hero from the broiler.
Slice the hero in half or in thirds and enjoy it with an ice cold lager or pilsner or an orange soda. Buon appetito!
