Chicken Fried Turkey Cutlets
Chicken Fried Turkey Cutlets are made by frying tender and juicy turkey breast cutlets in a crispy Cajun seasoned breading. It’s the ultimate southern comfort food dinner served with mashed potatoes and homemade pan gravy. Enjoy during weeknights or as a switch-up from whole turkey during the holidays!
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Why This Recipe is So Good
- First off, what is chicken fried turkey? This is turkey that has been breaded and fried like fried chicken! This recipe is similar to my Chicken Fried Chicken with Homemade Pan Gravy recipe, but we are using turkey instead!
- Serving crispy chicken-fried turkey cutlets instead of a whole turkey is definitely the holiday dinner move. It’s a switch up from the regular holiday turkey and everyone will love it so much better than baked turkey. These pan fried turkey cutlets are juicy and tender, covered in a crispy breading and taste amazing! They are seasoned with Cajun seasoning and served with a homemade pan gravy. What’s not to love?
- Fried turkey dinner menu: Creamy garlic mashed potatoes with Heavy Cream, homemade pan gravy, and mixed vegetables, or Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms. For dessert, this Apple Crisp with Oat Topping and a scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream.
Recipe Ingredients
- Turkey breast – The breast is cut in half to make cutlets, then they are pounded to tenderize them.
- Breading – flour, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, paprika and dried thyme.
- Eggs – To help the breading stick to the turkey cutlets.
- Oil – For frying. I used olive oil but avocado oil works too!
- Gravy – If you want to make a homemade gravy to go with these fried turkey cutlets, then you’ll need chicken or turkey broth and a little bit more flour.
How to Make Chicken Fried Turkey Cutlets with Gravy
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Set up Drenching Stations
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a shallow baking dish. In another dish, whisk together eggs. Then set up two sheet pans, one for the raw meat and another by the stove with a wire rack for the cooked turkey.
Prep the Turkey
Rinse turkey breasts, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut the turkey into cutlets by placing your palm on the top and using a sharp knife to cut each breast horizontally. Cut each cutlet in half so you have 4 pieces total. This will make breading and frying the turkey so much easier since turkey breasts are so large.
Tenderize each cutlet by placing one cutlet in between two pieces of parchment paper then pounding it with a meat mallet until ¼-inch thick. Once all the pieces are pounded, sprinkle with salt then set aside.
Drench Turkey Cutlets
Using one gloved hand or pair of tongs, coat one cutlet in the seasoned flour, then into the egg, allowing the excess egg to drip off then back into the flour. Transfer the drenched turkey cutlet to the sheet pan then repeat with the remaining meat.
Fry Turkey
Once your dutch oven or large cast iron skillet with oil is hot, gently transfer 1 – 2 pieces of turkey into the oil. Don’t crowd the pan. Cook each side for 3 – 4 minutes or until nicely golden brown then use a slotted spoon or clean pair of tongs to transfer the meat to the sheet pan with the wire rack. Repeat with remaining meat.
Make Homemade Pan Gravy
In a large skillet, whisk together flour and 3 – 4 tablespoons of the oil you fried the turkey in. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes to moisten the flour and until it smells like pie crust. If the flour looks crumbly, add a bit more of the frying oil.
Slowly whisk in cold chicken broth, salt, and black pepper. Allow it to come to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Then serve over your chicken fried turkey with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- How to make turkey cutlets: Place your hand on top of the whole breast, and cut horizontally all the way through to make 2 pieces. Pounding the meat helps the turkey cook faster. From here, cut the breast into 2 pieces; this helps the breasts be more manageable since turkey breasts are so large. Tenderize each cutlet by placing 1 piece between parchment paper. Pound with a meat mallet until it’s at least ¼-inch thick.
- It’s so important to pound the turkey cutlets until they are at least ¼-inch thick. Pounding the meat helps it to cook faster and become tender.
- Use a cast-iron skillet to make chicken-fried turkey. There’s just something about using a cast-iron skillet that makes your fried foods so much crispier.
- Season your turkey before breading. You don’t want bland, tasteless turkey underneath your crispy breading.
Looking For More Recipes?
- Fried Chicken Recipe without Buttermilk
- Fried Chicken Nuggets without Buttermilk
- Turkey Pot Pie with Biscuits
- Grandpa’s Southern Turkey Cornbread Dressing
- Smothered Turkey Necks
- Cajun Smothered Turkey Wings
- Oven Baked BBQ Turkey Legs
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Chicken Fried Turkey Cutlets
Equipment
- 2 Sheet pans with wire racks 1 pan for raw turkey and 1 for cooked turkey
- 2 Shallow baking dishes
- 2 Pairs of tongs or plastic gloves
- 1 Large Cast – iron skillet or dutch oven
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Meat mallet
- Parchment paper
- Large skillet or medium pot for pan gravy
Ingredients
- 1 (2lb turkey breast) cut into 4 cutlets
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- 3 – 4 eggs whisked
- 2 – 3 cups of avocado oil or vegetable oil for frying
Homemade gravy
- 3 – 4 tablespoons of the frying oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups of cold chicken broth or turkey broth
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Set up your drenching stations
- In a shallow baking dish, stir together flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt, cajun seasoning, black pepper, dried thyme, and ground paprika.2 teaspoons salt, 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 4 teaspoons cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- In another shallow baking dish, whisk together eggs.3 – 4 eggs
- Set up 2 sheet pans, one for the raw turkey and one for the cooked turkey. Set a wire rack over the sheet pan for the cooked turkey so excess oil can drip off.
- Lastly, heat a large cast-iron Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet over medium heat with 2-3 inches of vegetable oil or avocado oil.2 – 3 cups of avocado oil or vegetable oil for frying
Prep the turkey cutlets
- Rinse the turkey breast, then pat it dry with paper towels. Use a sharp chef's knife to cut each turkey breast into cutlets. Do this by placing your hand on top of the breast, then cut horizontally until you have 2 pieces. Because turkey breasts are so big, I like to cut each cutlet in half so I even up with 4 total pieces.1 (2lb turkey breast) cut into 4 cutlets
- Place 1 cutlet between two pieces of parchment paper, then use a meat hammer, pound the cutlet until it’s at least ¼-inch thick. This is important so you don’t even up with tough turkey. Repeat with the rest of the cutlets. Sprinkle turkey with the remaining ¾ teaspoon of salt. Then set aside.
Drench turkey cutlets
- Using a gloved hand or pair of tongs, coat one cutlet in the seasoned flour then into the egg, allowing the excess egg to drip off then back into the flour. Transfer the drenched turkey cutlet to the sheet pan then repeat with the remaining meat.
- Use one gloved hand or a pair of tongs for the dry drenching steps and the other hand or a different pair of tongs for the wet egg steps, to avoid your hands or tongs from becoming too gunky.
Fry turkey
- Heat your Dutch oven or large skillet with oil on medium heat. Test to see if it’s hot by sprinkling in a bit of flour. If it immediately sizzles, it’s hot enough.
- Gently transfer 1 or 2 cutlets into the hot oil. You don’t want to crowd the pan, so work in batches as needed. Allow the turkey to fry for 3 – 4 minutes per side or until it’s nicely golden brown.
- Use a slotted spoon or a clean pair of tongs to transfer the fried turkey onto the sheet pan with the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining meat.
- Serve with a country or pan gravy, and then enjoy with buttery corn or sauteed vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Homemade pan gravy
- In a large skillet, whisk together flour and 3 – 4 tablespoons of the oil you fried the turkey in. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes to moisten the flour and until it smells like pie crust. If the flour looks crumbly, add a bit more of the frying oil.3 – 4 tablespoons of the frying oil, 3 tablespoons flour
- Slowly whisk in cold chicken broth, salt, and black pepper. Allow it to come to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.2 cups of cold chicken broth, ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Notes
How To Store/ Make Ahead
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days.
- How to freeze: wrap each piece of chicken in plastic wrap then place it into the plastic bag.
- Keep frozen for up to 2 months.
Tips and Tricks
- Coat turkey cutlets in the flour mixture one more time before frying if it starts to look a little wet, this will help it to be extra crispy.
- To tenderize the turkey cutlets, pound each cutlet between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Pound using the smooth side of the mallet until the cutlet is ¼-inch thick. This step is so important; otherwise, the turkey will be tough and dry, even after frying.
- Use cold broth when making the homemade pan gravy to avoid chunks.
