Котлеты по-Киевски — Chicken Kiev

Russian Non Fasting Published April 21, 2026

Non-Fasting Recipe: This dish contains meat, dairy, or eggs and is intended for feast days and non-fasting periods.

A pounded chicken breast wrapped around a log of cold garlic-parsley butter, breaded, and fried until
golden — when cut open, hot butter should pour out dramatically. The classic version of the dish is
Ukrainian but has been a staple of Russian restaurant cuisine for over a century.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (chicken, butter, eggs, breadcrumbs fried in oil)

SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus freezing time for butter)

INGREDIENTS:
For the compound butter:
- 120 g unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cloves garlic, minced very finely
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Generous pinch of salt

For the chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 200 g each)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g fine breadcrumbs (or panko)
- Salt and black pepper
- Neutral oil for shallow frying (sunflower or peanut)

METHOD:
1. Make the butter: mash all butter ingredients together in a bowl. Spread the mixture into a log shape on cling film, roll tightly, and freeze for at least 1 hour until very firm. Slice into 4 equal pieces.
2. Prepare the chicken: place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound gently with a meat mallet until the breast is about 5 mm thick and as even as possible. Try not to tear the meat.
3. Season each pounded breast with salt and pepper.
4. Place a piece of frozen herb butter in the centre of each breast. Fold in the sides over the butter, then roll up tightly from bottom to top, completely enclosing the butter. Press the seams firmly — they must be sealed, or butter will escape during frying.
5. Triple-bread: roll each roll in flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, then egg and breadcrumbs AGAIN (two coats of crumbs). The double-breading is essential to hold in the butter.
6. Refrigerate the breaded rolls for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours) to firm up.
7. Heat 3 cm of oil in a deep heavy skillet to 175C (350F). Fry rolls for 7-8 minutes total, turning gently, until deeply golden on all sides. Internal temperature should reach 74C (165F).
8. Transfer to a plate and rest 2 minutes. Serve whole — each diner cuts into their own Kiev at the table so the butter pours out.

NOTES:
- The butter MUST be frozen solid when assembling. Warm butter leaks out and makes a mess.
- Perfect sealing is everything. A tiny hole in the seam and all the butter escapes — the signature magic of the dish is gone.
- Traditional presentation keeps the chicken drumstick bone attached (a stylistic flourish), but home versions are almost always boneless.
- Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles and a cucumber-dill salad.

NUTRITION (per serving, approximate):
Calories: 680 | Protein: 52 g | Carbohydrates: 35 g | Fat: 38 g | Fibre: 2 g