An Improved Take on Chicken Kyiv from 'Milk Street'

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Season 8 of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television premieres on WTTW Saturday, September 14 at 3:00 pm and will be available to stream via the PBS app.

When's the last time you had chicken Kyiv? The breaded, butter-filled chicken dish named after Ukraine's capital city seems to mostly be a thing of the past, gone the way of steak Diane and other Continental cuisine dishes. But with modern restaurants like Anelya exploring Ukrainian cuisine, maybe it's time to revisit chicken Kyiv. Christopher Kimball's Milk Street recently visited Ukraine for a new season of its TV show (premiering September 14 on WTTW) and learned some new techniques to improve the old dish, namely using ground chicken instead of a cutlet. While you wait and hope for Anelya to add chicken Kyiv to its menu, try making it at home.

Chicken Kyiv

During a visit to Ukraine, we learned that the chicken Kyiv familiar to most of us – a butter-filled roll of dry, tasteless chicken cutlet encased in an equally bland bread crumb shell – is not how the iconic dish began. Historically, the meat used to make it was ground chicken, a way of using up bits and scraps. We tasted several versions of this, all of them great. Unlike whole chicken breast, ground meat toughens less during cooking, and it can be seasoned throughout. Moreover, it absorbs some of the butter as the filling melts. Based on the recipes taught to us by chefs Ievgen Klopotenko and Igor Bragin, we developed an oven-baked, old-school chicken Kyiv that’s light yet rich and remarkably delicious. Dill, lemon, paprika, Parmesan cheese, and fresh ginger – an ingredient once common in Ukrainian cooking – flavor the dish. To crush the dill seeds, if using, use a mortar and pestle, or the bottom of a skillet. For make-ahead convenience, the filled and shaped chicken can be frozen up to 24 hours before breading (to prevent drying, cover with plastic wrap once the exteriors are firm); the fully frozen chicken can be breaded and cooked straight from the freezer, but requires an extra five minutes in the oven. Mashed potatoes are an excellent accompaniment.

Don’t attempt to fill the chicken if the butter mixture is not firmly frozen. If the butter is at all malleable, it may simply blend into the chicken mixture, which itself is soft and sticky.

Ingredients

10 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill, divided
5 teaspoons grated lemon zest, divided, plus lemon wedges to serve
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika, divided
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 pounds ground chicken
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds, crushed (optional)
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, plus more for coating your hands
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1/2 cup)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the butter, 1/3 cup of the dill, 4 teaspoons of the lemon zest, the ginger, 1 teaspoon of the paprika, the cayenne, and a pinch each of salt and black pepper; stir well. Using 2 soup spoons, divide the mixture into 8 portions, shaping each into a rough oval, and place on a plate; reserve the bowl. Freeze, uncovered, until solid, at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment. Heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle position.

2. Remove the frozen butter from the freezer. In the reserved bowl, combine the chicken, dill seed (if using), granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Using your hands, mix well; it will be sticky. Divide into 8 portions (about 1/3 cup each) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly oil your hands, then scoop up 1 portion and, in the palm of one hand, press the mixture into a rough 4-inch oval. Place 1 butter portion in the center, then enclose the butter in the meat. Using both hands, oiled as needed, form the butter-filled chicken into a 4-inch football shape; return it to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken and butter. Freeze, uncovered, until the exteriors are firm to the touch, 35 to 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, put the panko in a 9-inch pie plate; set in the oven to toast until light golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Set aside to cool; leave the oven on. Put the flour in a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon water.

4. To the cooled panko, add the Parmesan, oil, remaining 2 tablespoons dill, remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; stir well.

5. Remove the partially frozen butter-filled chicken from the freezer. One at a time, roll each in the flour, turning to coat, then shake off excess flour and coat all sides with egg. Allow excess egg to drip back into the bowl, then coat all sides with the panko mixture, pressing lightly so the breadcrumbs adhere; return to the baking sheet. (At this point, the filled and breaded chicken can be refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 4 hours before baking.)

6. Bake the chicken, using tongs to turn each about every 10 minutes, until golden brown on all sides, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with lemon wedges.