Hairy Bikers Chicken Parmo Recipe

Hairy Bikers chicken parmo bakes Parmesan-crusted breasts until crisp, then layers them on a red wine tomato sauce under mozzarella for a final melt. It comes from Chicken and Egg at around 630 kcal, serves 4, and the headnote connects it to the Middlesbrough parmo tradition.

The book calls this chicken parmigiana but flags ‘another version known as Parmo, the signature dish of Middlesbrough’ in the same headnote. The Italian version bakes on tomato sauce under mozzarella, while the Teesside parmo swaps in béchamel and grated cheese under the grill.

Butterflying each breast and flattening it between cling film is what makes the coating work, because thin meat cooks evenly inside the breadcrumbs. The Parmesan goes into the crumb mix rather than on top, which means the crust carries its own savoury hit before the mozzarella even melts.

Hairy Bikers Chicken Parmo Parmigiana Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Italian Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:IntermediatePrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 55 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:1 hour 10 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories:630 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Chicken breasts are butterflied, pressed flat, and dipped through seasoned flour, beaten egg, and a Parmesan breadcrumb mix before baking. A garlic-rubbed dish holds the red wine tomato sauce on the bottom, the breaded chicken in the middle, and sliced mozzarella on top for a final bake until golden.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 75g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 75g breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A few basil leaves, finely chopped
• 100g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Tomato Sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100ml red wine
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 400g can of tomatoes
• Pinch of sugar, optional

To Assemble

• 1 garlic clove
• 2 balls of mozzarella, sliced
• Handful of basil leaves, to serve

Instructions

1. Make the tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion gently until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, then pour in the red wine and let it bubble fiercely until reduced by half. Add the oregano and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, taste, and add a pinch of sugar if needed. Simmer uncovered for 10 more minutes until well reduced.
2. Flatten and coat the chicken: Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Butterfly the breasts, then place each one between two sheets of cling film and flatten slightly with a rolling pin. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the Parmesan with the breadcrumbs, oregano, and basil. Put half the flour on one plate, beat one egg in a bowl, and spread half the breadcrumb mix on another plate.
3. Bread in half batches: Dip a breast in flour, dust off the excess, dip into the egg, then press firmly into the breadcrumb mix. Repeat with a second breast. Replenish with the remaining flour, egg, and breadcrumbs on clean plates, then coat the last two. Arrange on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until just cooked through.
4. Assemble and bake: Cut the garlic clove in half and rub it over a large shallow oven dish. Spread the tomato sauce over the base, place the chicken on top, and arrange the mozzarella slices over the chicken until almost completely covered. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until piping hot and the mozzarella is melted and browned. Scatter with basil leaves before serving.

FAQs

What is the difference between chicken parmo and chicken parmigiana?

The recipe in the book is the Italian parmigiana: breaded chicken baked on tomato sauce under sliced mozzarella. The Middlesbrough parmo described in the headnote fries the breaded breast instead of baking it. The tomato sauce swaps for béchamel, and grated cheese replaces the mozzarella before everything goes under the grill.

Both versions start with the same butterflied, flattened, breadcrumbed breast. The split happens after the chicken is cooked, depending on whether you go Italian or Teesside.

Why does the recipe coat the chicken in half batches?

The flour, egg, and breadcrumbs get messy after two breasts pass through, so the book splits them into two rounds. Fresh plates for the last two keep the Parmesan coating loose and even instead of clumpy. Most recipes online skip this step, and the crust suffers for it.

Where did chicken parmo come from?

The headnote calls it ‘the signature dish of Middlesbrough,’ and the story traces to a Greek American chef in the 1950s. The Italian parmigiana uses tomato sauce and mozzarella, but the Middlesbrough version evolved into its own dish with béchamel and grated cheese.

For another Italian chicken dish, their chicken cacciatore braises legs in red wine and tomatoes instead of breading and baking.

How is this different from chicken kiev?

Both recipes butterfly the breast and flatten it between cling film, and both coat it before cooking. After that they split: the kiev rolls the breast around a garlic butter torpedo and deep-fries it. The parmo lays it flat, bakes it in breadcrumbs, then assembles it on sauce and cheese.

Their chicken kiev from the same book is worth comparing, since the prep is almost identical but the finished dishes taste nothing alike.

Why bake the chicken before assembling the dish?

The 12 to 15 minutes of baking sets the Parmesan breadcrumb crust before the sauce and cheese go on. Without this step, the tomato sauce soaks through the coating during the second bake and the whole thing goes soggy. The book is specific about wanting a ‘well-reduced sauce’ for the same reason, because too much liquid is the enemy of a crispy base.

For another dish where a well-reduced tomato sauce matters, their Italian meatballs build the sauce separately before the baked meatballs drop in.