Spicy Katsu turkey sandwich

Spicy Katsu turkey sandwich

A “Katsu sandwich” is a Japanese-style schnitzel sandwich, which is normally made with pork schnitzel, but using wild turkey breast meat is a sure-fire way to impress your guests, and spice up the traditional turkey schnitzel sandwich. And even for those who don’t like too much heat, these sandwiches aren’t all that spicy, and you can always reduce the amount of spicy ingredients to your liking.Preparation time: 20 minutesCooking time: 8-10 minutes (per batch of cutlets)

Ingredients

8 wild turkey cutlets (cut from breast, lightly mashed to ½-¼” thickness)1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 tbsp. tablespoon Seven Spice (available in the Asian or ethnic sections of most grocery stores)3 c. tablespoon cayenne pepper2 tbsp. tsp. garlic powder1 tsp. tsp. onion powder1 tsp. tablespoons kosher salt, plus2 large eggs¼ cup hot sauce2 cups Panko breadcrumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs)Sunflower oil (or extra-virgin olive oil)16 slices light rye breadIceberg lettuce (shredded)Spicy mayonnaise sauce:½ cup mayonnaise¼ cup bread-and-butter pickles (diced)1-2 tbsp. teaspoon sweet onion (diced)2 tbsp. tablespoons hot sauce (use as much heat as you can stand)1 tbsp. teaspoon of Seven SpicesSalt and pepper

Instructions

1. First prepare your spicy mayo sauce, combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, adjusting to taste if necessary. Set aside in the refrigerator to let the flavours develop for at least 10 minutes.
2. Cut the turkey breast into 1″ slices along the grain. Then, working one at a time, place a piece of breast between a large piece of plastic wrap and fold over, pound with a meat tenderizer or even a cast-iron skillet, until ½ -¼” thick.
3. Prepare the dragée, egg bath and breadcrumbs. For the dragée, mix the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, seven-spice powder and 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl. For the egg wash; mix 2 eggs and a ¼ cup of hot sauce in a bowl. For the breadcrumbs, simply pour Panko breadcrumbs into a large container that can hold a whole cutlet.
4. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat with a generous amount of sunflower oil.
5. Then, working one at a time, coat each turkey cutlet; coat the turkey in flour, turning to coat well, and shaking off excess flour. Dip into egg mixture and turn to cover egg mixture completely. Place the turkey in the panko breadcrumbs, turning to coat and pressing down with your hand to adhere the crumbs.
6. When the oil is heated and has a nice shine, working in 2 batches, cook 4 turkey cutlets at a time, reducing the heat to medium if they brown too quickly. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and very crispy, then turn over and repeat on the other side. Transfer the cutlets to a rack to rest, the rack will help keep a nice crispy layer, sprinkle them with a little more salt as soon as they touch the rack and are still hot so the salt sticks.
7. When all the turkey is cooked, you can assemble your sandwich.
8. Spread the spicy mayo sauce on both sides of the bread slices. Top with a slice of shredded lettuce, then add the cutlet, close the sandwich and cut it in half.