4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1¼ C milk
¾ C water
2 C all-purpose flour
Cooking oil
½ TSP salt
¼ TSP ground black pepper
¼ TSP paprika
¼ TSP white pepper
Using the bottom of a small heavy saucepan as a wide mallet, flatten the chicken breasts to a uniform thickness — the idea is not to make them paper thin, just consistently the same thickness all around, and to tenderize them slightly. To make this easier place the breast in a gallon size zip-top bag (left unzipped) or between two sheets of cling wrap. This will keep your counter (and walls, and you) clean, and allow the meat to move and flatten easily without friction from the counter of saucepan.
Beat together the egg and ½ C milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle liberally on both sides of the chicken breasts.
Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each piece in the egg/milk mixture, then back in the flour. Set chicken pieces aside on a piece of waxed paper or parchment.
Pour the cooking oil into a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet to reach a depth of ½” and heat over medium-high heat to 350°. Be sure to maintain this temperature during cooking by adjusting your heat appropriately. The oil will cool rapidly when you first put the chicken in, so you’ll need to increase the heat for a bit directly after doing so.
With a long-handled fork or tongs, carefully place each chicken breast into the hot oil — in a 12″ skillet you’ll be able to cook two at a time without crowding the pan unnecessarily. Cook for five minutes per side, or more importantly until you reach an internal temperature of 180°. Remove the cooked chicken and drain on a cooling rack over a sheet pan or brown paper bag — don’t drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags.
Cream Gravy:
Mix together the remaining ¾ C milk, and the ¾ C water. Set aside.
After the chicken is removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.
Sprinkle 3 TBS of the leftover flour from the chicken dredge into the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour and make a roux.
Gradually stir in the milk and water mixture, whisking constantly to remove lumps and make a smooth creamy mixture. Lower the heat, and the gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.