Pretzel-crusted chicken breasts with mustard-dill dipping sauce

Ground pretzels not only make a great crunchy-salty coating for chicken, they also make this dish a family-friendly favorite you'll get plenty of requests for.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
3 cups pretzels (not low-sodium)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lb.)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Put the flour in a wide, shallow bowl. In another wide, shallow bowl, lightly beat the eggs and 1 Tbs. of the mustard. Process the pretzels in a food processor until a coarse flour forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer the pretzel flour to a third wide, shallow bowl. Line up the flour, egg, and pretzel bowls in that order.

Put the chicken on a cutting board, and holding your knife parallel to the board, split each breast in half horizontally. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken lightly with pepper. Dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, then the egg, and then the pretzel flour, coating well and shaking off the excess. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup mustard with the mayonnaise, dill, honey, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper; set aside.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add three of the chicken breast pieces. Cook until the first side is dark brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the second side is golden-brown, about 2 minutes more; if the chicken seems to be browning too fast, reduce the heat to medium. Transfer to a clean cutting board and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Slice the chicken on the diagonal. Divide the slices among four dinner plates and serve with the dipping sauce.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with tangy Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage.

Nutrition information (per serving):

Calories (kcal): 810; Fat (g): 50; Fat Calories (kcal): 440; Saturated Fat (g): 8; Protein (g): 43; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 17; Carbohydrates (g): 47; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 22; Sodium (mg): 1210; Cholesterol (mg): 210; Fiber (g): 2;

Susie Middleton is editor at large for Fine Cooking magazine.