Coating ingredients in flour, egg and breadcrumbs is a time-honoured, effective method, but it can leave your hands — and kitchen — covered in sticky, clumpy goo. Follow this simple technique to avoid the mess.

  1. Arrange your ingredients from left to your right in this order: the food you want to coat in breadcrumbs (in this example, chicken fillets), then flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Place a clean plate at the far right.
  2. You will be working from left to right, using your left hand as your ‘dry’ hand and your right hand as your ‘wet’.
  3. Using your left (dry) hand, turn the chicken in the flour to coat both sides, then drop it into the bowl of egg.
  4. Using your right (wet) hand, turn the chicken to coat in the egg. Shake off the excess, then drop it into the breadcrumbs.
  5. Using your left (dry) hand, turn the chicken in the breadcrumbs to coat both sides. Shake off the excess breadcrumbs, then transfer the coated chicken to the clean plate.
  6. Repeat these steps with the remaining chicken, ensuring not to muddle up your two hands!