Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; set aside.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate.
Lightly beat the eggs into another shallow dish.
Combine the panko crumbs, garlic powder, and onion powder in a third dish.
In a large skillet set over medium heat, combine the olive oil and butter.
Dip a chicken cutlet in the flour, shake off any excess, and then dip it in the eggs. Shake off excess, then dip the chicken cutlet, on both sides, in the panko mixture.
Transfer the chicken to a wax-lined plate or a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining cutlets.
When the oil is hot, and the butter is melted, fry 2 to 3 cutlets at a time for about 3 minutes or until golden on the bottom. Flip and cook for 3 more minutes or until golden, crispy, and cooked through. The thicker the cutlets, the longer they will need to cook through.
Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining chicken cutlets.
Serve the chicken cutlets topped with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of basil oil if using, and chopped fresh chives.
Chicken Cutlets: A chicken cutlet is a chicken breast cut in half, horizontally, to make two thinner chicken pieces. You can either buy the chicken cutlets or cut three chicken breasts in half to make 6 chicken cutlets.
Thin Chicken Is Key: Pounding the chicken thin is crucial to this dish. Thin chicken pieces will stay moist and cook quickly.
How to Pound Chicken Cutlets: You can use a meat mallet to pound chicken or a small heavy saucepan. Put the chicken in a zip-top bag before pounding it to minimize the mess.
Hot Oil: The butter and olive oil mixture must be hot before you add the chicken, or it won’t sizzle and fry. To test the heat, drop some egg or panko into the skillet; if it sizzles, the oil should be hot enough.
Basil Oil: This is optional, but it does taste great drizzled over chicken, fish, tomatoes, pasta, etc. To make the basil oil, in a small food processor, combine ¼ cup oil, 1/4 cup basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, and salt to taste; purée until smooth. Drizzle over chicken before serving.
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.