Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev is a dish of chicken fillet pounded thin, rolled around cold butter, then coated in egg and breadcrumbs and fried or baked. Its origin is disputed, but oral tradition credits the Continental Hotel in Kyiv with creating the dish as its signature specialty in the early twentieth century, and it became closely associated with Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, emerging as a symbol of Russian haute cuisine by the 1950s. The chicken breast is boned, skinned and pounded flat, then stuffed with cold butter, often flavored with garlic in Western versions, along with herbs such as parsley and dill, before being wrapped, dipped in beaten egg, coated with breadcrumbs and fried or baked until golden. Traditional versions leave the wing's humerus bone attached, decorated with a frilled paper napkin, and cutting or biting into the finished dish releases a characteristic burst of melted butter, though modern boneless versions are now common, especially in the United States.