How to cook With Italian bread crumbs

Italian bread crumbs are in many ways, if not the backbone of Italian cooking, at least a major part of the spine! A huge advantage in using Italian bread crumbs over most other bread crumbs available is that the seasonings are already mixed in with the bread crumbs, adding a unique and wonderful flavor.

The most common application Italian bread crumbs are used for is frying. Italian bread crumbs add perfect crust to a chicken fried steak. For Chicken Cacciatore, you would cut up your chicken, dredge the pieces in flour, then dunk them in a milk and egg mixture, followed by a thorough coating of the Italian bread crumbs. Then the chicken is fried in about a quarter inch of olive oil for its fullest flavor. Fully brown the chicken on one side, then carefully turn the pieces and fry them on the other side until nicely browned. Then add your tomato sauce (onions, bell peppers, garlic) to the pan that you have fried the chicken in, but make sure to scrape up all the wonderfully tasty browned bits on the bottom of the pan to work them into the sauce.

As the chicken finishes cooking, some of the terrific properties of Italian bread crumbs become apparent. The bread crumbs will both add flavor and thicken your sauce. Sometimes you will have no need for additional spices! This is also true of other great uses for Italian bread crumbs. When you are making a stew or a chowder that might be a little thin or just does not have that special flavor you are looking for, adding Italian bread crumbs will add that flavor, and thicken as well.

If you want a flavorful meal, whether you are frying or making a soup or stew, you will find Italian bread crumbs almost as versatile as they are delicious.