Food porn triple play, part II

Today's food porn is chicken Kiev, which we had for dinner last night after the glorious Packers victory. This is a moderately difficult dish to make, mostly because of the meat-beating. But we'll get to that. First, get some white pepper, salt, tarragon leaves and chives, fresh or dried:

Mix 2 tbsps of tarragon, tbsps of chives, 1/8-tsp of white pepper and salt to taste in a bowl. Mix it up right, people. Then get a stick of butter (which happens to be 8 tbsps) and cut it into 8 equal pieces. The wrapper on the butter stick is marked in tablespoon increments for your convenience. Roll each of those hunks of butter in your seasoning mix:

When they are thoroughly coated, stick those bad boys in the refrigerator. You will want them later.

Next, take four boneless, skinless chicken breasts --at least, that is what my recipe calls for. I used eight thin-sliced boneless breasts in hopes of it being easier. Eh. Anyway, if you start with 4 full-sized breasts, cut them in half across the middle (not lengthwise). Next, get a sheet of plastic wrap and fold it over an under a breast, get your meat mallet and beat the shit out of that meat. This is the tricky part. You want to pound your meat to 1/4 inch thickness without making holes in it. Beat your meat carefully. I used thin-sliced breasts this time (not the first time I've made this dish) in hopes that it would simplify the meat-beating process. Maybe not so much. I think my meat was still too thick, which complicates things later. Anyway, wrap your meat thus and beat it:

Once your meat is beaten to the appropriate thickness -- a quarter inch, people -- take a seasoned butter pat, cut it in half so you can set it out lengthwise, like so, and roll the chicken breast tightly. This is why the breast must be thin -- too thick, and it is tough to roll. If it is properly thin, you can tuck the ends in as you roll to help with your seal. Mine was too thick, but I managed to seal it anyway:

You can secure your rolled-up breasts with toothpicks to assist in sealing the butter in.

Once the chicken is rolled, dust each breast with flour:

You will then brush each breast with beaten egg:

Then roll them in breadcrumbs:

You are going to deep fy those suckers at 360 degrees until done. If you have pounded them to the proper thickness, this should happen quickly. Basically, they float.

Drain the finished product on paper towels:

Then serve with stuff like garlic bread, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and what not:

Bon appetit.