Bobby Flay Just Shared His Restaurant-style Chicken Parm Recipe & It Uses One Special Ingredient

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Bobby Flay is one of the most famous names in the food world. The restaurateur isn’t just a chef, he’s a celebrity chef, and anyone with a TV has likely seen him grace their screens on one of his many cooking shows over the decades. But inspite of his world-wide fame, there’s something we all have in common with Flay — his love of chicken parm. On Instagram, his The Kitchen co-star Sunny Anderson recently asked “Bobby…give us the recipe for being rich.” And though he couldn’t reveal that secret, he did decide to share his Chicken Parmigiano recipe, which he says is “a dish I crave weekly.”

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Flay made a name for himself cooking Southwestern food, but what you might not realize is that the chef has a passion for Italian cuisine, too, which was apparent both in his appearance in Bobby and Giada in Italy, and also in the food served at his coastal Italian-inspired restaurant Amalfi inside Caesars Palace.

That means this recipe is no ordinary chicken parmesan. He calls it Chicken Parmigiano, because it uses real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, not one of the American copycats or the powdery stuff that’s made with wood pulp. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is the crowning star of the dish, so make sure you’re using the real-deal stuff when making this recipe, so it comes out as restaurant-worthy as Flays.

His technique is important, too. Flay seasons all three elements of his breading station individually to build flavor. He dredges the chicken cutlets in flour, beaten eggs, and panko breadcrumbs before frying until golden-brown on both sides in some canola oil.

Courtesy of Clarkson Potter.

Then comes the first round of cheese. The chicken cutlets are topped with slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella, and the mozarella is seasoned, too — it’s that attention to detail that makes this recipe special. A pop in the oven melts the cheese like a blanket over the crisp cutlets.

Then to plate it, Flay lays the chicken cutlets atop a swirl of homemade marinara sauce, and showers each one generously with finely shredded Parmigiano Reggino. He urges cooks not to be stingy, as a lot of the dish’s flavor comes from the cheese. Last but not least, peppery arugula and fragrant basil top off each plate. Just one bite and we have a feeling you’ll be saying “this is the best chicken parm I’ve ever had in my life,” and much like Flay, it could become your weekly craving.