(gentle music) - Yeah. (laughs) Hey everybody, it's Natasha
of NatashasKitchen.com. And today I'm gonna teach you a genius way to use leftover chicken, whether it's white meat or dark meat, this is so easy and good. It is sure to become
a new family favorite. We're making chicken cakes. Let's do this cause I'm hungry. (upbeat music) (bell dinging) We love using rotisserie chicken for this, one because it's easy and two, because roasted chicken just
has really good rich flavor. You can buy a roasted chicken
or check out our recipe on how to make the most delicious Instant Pot rotisserie chicken. And if you want to become a
pro at carving a whole chicken, check out our video on how
to cut a whole chicken. You'll be surprised how much
leftover chicken you can get from a rotisserie chicken. Especially those pockets of meat on the bottom of the
chicken, which tend to be the most tender and flavorful. You'll need a total of four
cups of shredded chicken. And I like to remove the skin and any fat. Really dark meat or light meat
work great in this recipe. Just use what you have on hand. Here's a few different ways
you can shred your chicken. You can do it by hand, just
by pulling the chicken apart into small bite sized pieces. Or to keep your hands clean, you can use two forks to shred the meat apart. Now my favorite and easiest
way to shred chicken is to put it in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed just until the chicken is shredded. Be careful not to over
mix and it works best if the chicken is warm. Now in a large mixing bowl,
we're gonna make the batter. Combined two large eggs,
1/3 cup of real mayonnaise and the mayonnaise adds
moisture and great flavor so don't skip it. Also you'll need 1/3 cup
of all purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8
of a teaspoon of black pepper. Also add one teaspoon of fresh lemon zest and do not skip this because it completely transforms these chicken cakes. It adds great fresh flavor. And last, but not least,
add three tablespoons of freshly chopped dill
and if you can't find dill, you can also use a little bit
of finely chopped parsley. Whisk that together until
it is a smooth batter. The batter is the glue that holds these chicken cakes together. So make sure if you add more chicken that you also increase the
batter, proportionally. Add the shredded chicken and 1 1/3 cups of shredded
mozzarella cheese. The cheese makes these
extra creamy, cheesy, and also helps to hold the cakes together. Stir that until it's really well combined and all of the chicken
is coated in the batter. Now cover the mixture with
plastic wrap and refrigerate that for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the mixture
will make it much easier to form your patties. Refrigerating also marinates the chicken. and infuses every bite
with amazing flavor. Once your chicken mixture is
cooled, we're gonna portion it. And I use a trigger
release ice cream scoop, and I'll link to one that we
love and use in the notes. Using the scoop makes it
easy to portion them evenly. You should get about 12 to
15 chicken patties in total. Once you have that portioned out, you're gonna dip each one into a bowl, filled with one cup of Panko breadcrumbs. Roll each ball into the breadcrumbs, pressing them gently to adhere. As you're pressing on the
crumbs, gently shape the patties so they're each 1/2 an inch thick. The breading adds a crisp
exterior once these are fried, but it also seals in the juicy center and keeps the cheese from
sticking to the skillet. The beauty of this recipe is that you can completely pre-make
these chicken cakes and refrigerate them overnight. So you can cook them fresh the next day. And they also reheat really well so you can cook them and
reheat them the next day. Once all of the chicken
patties are formed, we're ready to saute them up. Place a large nonstick
skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. I'll link to the skillet
we're using in the notes. Now add the chicken
cakes in a single layer and I do cook these in a couple of batches so we don't overcrowd the pan. Saute those for about three
to four minutes per side, or until they're golden
brown on each side, adding more oil as needed. Even though the chicken is already fully cooked in this recipe, you still wanna give the batter
a chance to cook through. So be patient as they saute and if they start browning
too quickly, reduce the heat. You can also have two skillets
going at the same time or use a large griddle to
make this process even faster. You want them to be crisp and
golden brown on both sides. (upbeat music) I found that if you add a
little more oil to the pan, it helps with the browning of the crust. Once those are done,
transfer them to a platter and they're ready to enjoy. You can make the second
batch now or refrigerate them and cook them fresh the next day. (upbeat music) Oh, it is go time! One of the things I always recommend when you're frying something in oil is to sprinkle a little
bit of salt on top, just as soon as it comes out of the oil, just like with French fries. It adds that really great flavor. It's a simple trick, but it
will transform your foods. Okay. That's looks right. All right and a squeeze
of fresh lemon juice, 'cause remember we put
lemon zest into these cakes. Okay and then the lemon juice just really freshens it
up also great flavor. And I love to serve these
with some more lemon wedges that people can squeeze over their cakes. It also makes for a really
pretty presentation. Okay, put those on a platter. My kids love these with
just a little bit of ranch, but I do have a really good garlic aioli that we used for our chicken fritters that works really well
with this recipe too. And I will link to that in the notes. Ah, I'm hurrying because
I wanna get to this fresh cause it has that little
bit of cheese pool. Okay, we're gonna do this.
We're gonna do this. (laughs) I'm excited. All right, crispy on the outside and super tender and juicy on the inside. Check this out. That chicken is so tender,
cheesy and super delicious. This is gonna be a new
favorite, I'm telling you. Okay, okay. I'm getting, getting ahead
of myself, getting excited. Here we go. (upbeat music) Hm. Mm mm mm. Mm mm. Mm Wow. (laughs) This is so good. Oh, I love the texture. That little bit of crunch on the crust and really just so tender inside. It's amazing how it
transforms leftover chicken into just the juiciest morsels of chicken and the cheese does keep it moist. You can skip it if you want to, but I think it makes
these better. (laughs) And you can really taste that lemon 'cause we added it fresh over the top. And that little bit of lemon
zest inside goes a long way. So do not skip it. Plus the fresh dill. Ah, just it's a light flavor,
but it is this so good with lemon and chicken. Awesome. I have to have another bite. Mm, oh, hm. I don't think these
even need any more sauce (laughs) 'cause it's so good. A little bit of lemon though. Mm, I love lemon. (upbeat music continues) Mm. Mm. Wow. (laughs) I can't get enough. I know this is supposed to be
a taste test and not lunch, but (laughs) I can't help myself. Oh and if you have more leftover chicken, we've got some great ideas
using up leftover chicken, right over there with our
chicken avocado salad. It is probably the number
one salad recipe on our blog or you can make a really good
homemade chicken noodle soup. So don't miss that recipe either. And you can even make a bone broth, the most delicious bone broth
with the leftover carcass so I'll leave a link to that in the notes and we'll see you on our next video. (tone beeping) Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh (mouth burping) I don't even know, I'm just so tired. (hands clapping) Okay. (laughs) (tone beeping) Wah! (laughs) Ah, cut. (tone beeping)
I know, but my upper back, (hand clapping)
my shoulders are... I hustled at the gym yesterday, okay? ♪ I'm a hustling baby. ♪ (tone beeping) ♪ I have power ♪ (oil sizzling) (tone beeping)
Ah. I'm scared. Oh. I'm gonna lose my fart.
