Italian Breading Mixture

Use this Italian breading mixture for all your fave fried meats and veggies. Works great for boneless chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, cauliflower ect. ect. I'll even use the leftovers after frying chicken to fry up a few onion rings. I've been stuck on this frying mixture for many years. It's one of those recipes where you know you'll use it for life. It's that good. It actually contains a lot of memories and love as well, but you can read about that in my Pappaw's fried chicken recipe. It's very similar to this just goes into the specifics of frying the actual chicken. 

*If you're needing or wanting some healthier or dietary substitutes, you can trade out the Parmesan for nutritional yeast. The milk can be substituted for coconut milk or oat milk. You can also use a flax egg instead of the regular egg, just don't hold me to the perfect crust look because it's definitely a little textural-ly different. Yet, it's still very tasty. Also check your bread crumbs for dairy and the hot sauce you use for any added ingredients. 

• 2 cups of Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup of jarred powdered Parmesan Romano cheese (this version helps to make a crispier crust)
• 2 cups of un-bleached flour
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 cups of milk
• 1 dash of hot sauce

In order to set up a breading station, you'll need 2 shallow bowls, I like using pie pans. You'll also need a deeper bowl for the milk and eggs. There will be 3 separate mixes for the ingredients above. 

1. In one shallow bowl; add the flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp garlic powder.
2. In the next shallow bowl; add the bread crumbs, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp onion powder, and the powdered/jarred cheese.
3. Lastly, in the deeper bowl add in the eggs, milk, and dash of hot sauce. Whisk wet ingredients together. I typically use the full 2 cups of milk because I fry over a pound of chicken, but with less you could only use 1 cup. 

-Basically, you dip meat or veggie in the flour mixture and shake. Then dip in the egg/milk bowl. After that, dip in the bread crumb mix, and allow to sit on a plate for a few minutes before frying. Don't over crowd or the breading with smudge off.  Frying times will differ depending on what it is you are cooking. As well as a needed temperature for safely frying meats and seafood. Be sure to google temps if you are unsure. 
*Typical chicken needs to reach 165 degrees F. 

Happy Frying!