Chicken cutlets...how far in advance

[Icedhazelnut]

How far in advance can you prepare chicken(or veal) cutlets? How far ahead of time can I bread them? Do I refridgerate or freeze? Can I cook them ahead of time and still end up with that 'freshly cooked' taste when they are reheated? My usual thing is to be sauteing/frying them as we're eating them (because they cool off so fast). I don't know how to do it any other way and have them be and taste moist and fresh. I don't want to be at the stove still cooking while the whole family is sitting down and eating. I cook a lot of cutlets! I buy 7 or 8 packages of the chicken breasts that are thin-sliced especially for cutlets. There's four to five cutlets in a package. My stove has 4 burners and I can only use two burners at a time because of the size of the saute pans. (Yeah, I know, if we ever redo the kitchen I know exactly how large a stove/range top to get!!)

Help!!

[Blueicus]

You can certainly bread cutlets a day or two before and retain good quality. Indeed, if you let the breading sit with your meat a bit you will reduce the chance that the breading will slip off when you're cutting into it (that, combined with good breading technique, of course).

Also, you can store your cooked cutlets in the oven set at around 200-250 degrees to keep them warm if you're making so many of them so you can eat with everyone else.

[Mezzaluna]

I wouldn't cook them breaded and hold them in the refrigerator though the breading will get soggy and mushy. I've re-cooked unbreaded chicken cutlets and veal cutlets and refrigerated them for a day, then gently reheated them in lemon sauce (piccata) or marsala sauce.

[Blueicus]

I think the original poster meant to prep the cutlets by breading them then storing them raw in the fridge, which is something I've done and something that's done at the restaurant I work at. When the breading hits the hot oil it will become crispy.