The Egg Sauce for Everything

Especially fried chicken

Sometimes the best companion for chicken is an egg. Of course, a fried chicken cutlet is good with just about anything: a shock of mustard, a tangle of arugula, an elegant swoop of tonnato or a Proustian paper cup of ketchup. But chickens and eggs are a natural combination, a pairing of biology and taste.

Since I started making it a few months ago, I think the eggy counterpart to fried chicken that works best is gribiche, a French sauce of chopped eggs, cornichons, capers, and Dijon mustard. Think of this as a looser, tangier version of egg salad, one that should really be more popular. It’s commonly eaten with asparagus and fish, although I think it really shines with a good chicken Milanese. However, there’s no need to stop there; I’ve been spreading it on toast for a snack, and I have my eyes set on a gribiche-topped leeks vinaigrette.

Below is a recipe for sauce gribiche, as well as an updated take on chicken Milanese. I published this in one of my very first newsletters, but I’ve since landed on a few more important tips for a crispy, crackling cutlet:

• Use a combination of different sizes/grains of breadcrumb. I still think panko is ideal, but I now like to blend about half of the breadcrumbs into a finer grain. Having both large and small crumbs ensures that you’ll still get a maximally crunchy crust, but all the nooks and crannies in between those large crumbs will be evenly covered.

• Salt every component very generously. Chicken cutlets are too often underseasoned, so I aggressively salt the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.

• I noted this in my previous recipe, but press the breadcrumbs as hard as you can. I place one hand over the other and put as much weight as possible on the cutlet; this will help the breadcrumb coating stick and fry evenly.

  

  Properly crumbed

• In terms of oil, I think peanut is superior; it fries really well, and there’s noticeably less smell and taste.

• It’s optional, but sprinkling some finely chopped chives on top as soon as the chicken out of the oil is really delicious, in addition to any flaky salt you’re using.

• Finally, cleanup. Disposing of frying oil has always been a major annoyance, but I recently discovered a product called FryAway, which is essentially a gelatin that solidifies the oil. This allows you to pop it out of your pan right into the trash. This is not an ad; the product is just insanely helpful for cleaning up.