Chicken Piccata

Lightly battered chicken breast with a rich lemon butter sauce makes this Chicken Piccata a family favorite. Try it, and you will see why.

There is an Italian restaurant near our home that is known for its chicken piccata. When the restaurant is spoken about by the locals, you are almost certain to hear, “Have you had their Chicken Piccata?” or “I love their Chicken Piccata”. Once you have had it there, eating it anywhere else will not compare.

The dish’s popularity is the lemon butter sauce. Lots of butter!  It is deliciously decadent and stands out from the rest.

This is my recreation of the popular dish. The good news is that it comes pretty darn close to the original. The bad news is that my family can have it more often, which is not so good for the old ticker and waistband.

Try it out and enjoy it in moderation! Happy eating!

To start, butterfly each breast with a sharp knife and pound out to one third inch thick.

Season well with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, then in milk, and then bread crumbs.

Cook the chicken in a skillet until golden brown and cooked through.

Moving on to the sauce, to get it to the desired consistency and richness, a beurre blanc (white butter) sauce is an option. It requires a ridiculous amount of drop-dead-while-eating-at-the-table-butter. I find that a roux-based sauce provides the same flavor profile and uses quite a bit less butter to be a better option.

To make it, cook the shallot and garlic in some 2 1/2 tablespoons butter. Add flour.

Next, whisk in chicken broth and salt. Allow to boil.  Add lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the rest of the butter in increments.

Serve over chicken. Drooling!!

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• Large skillet—this is a 12-inch professional stainless steel Cuisinart skillet.
• Wire whisk—this is a 10.5-inch KitchenAid in matted aqua sky.
• A turner/spatula—this is an OXO Good Grips stainless steel turner.

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Chicken Piccata

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Stovetop Cooked Cuisine:Italian Courses:Main Recipe Keys: B Budget-Friendly C Chicken I Italian

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 40 minutesTotal time: 55 minutesServings:5 Servings

Description

Lightly battered chicken breast with a rich lemon butter sauce makes this Chicken Piccata a family favorite. Try it, and you will see why.

Ingredients

• 5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 3 1/2 pounds
• 1 1/2 cups flour for dredging
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups milk*
• Salt and pepper for seasoning chicken
• Oil for cooking

Lemon Butter Sauce:

• 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
• 10 tbsp. butter (12 tbsp. if you want to be really bad)
• 4 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. finely diced shallot, 1 small bulb
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Butterfly each breast by making a slit all the way down the middle, stopping about 1/3 inch short of cutting all the way through. The chicken should open up like a book. Use a meat mallet to evenly flatten the chicken to 1/3 inch thick. Generously season each side with salt and pepper.
2. Place the flour, milk, and bread crumbs in separate shallow plates.
3. Dip each piece of chicken into the flour and tap off excess. Dip into milk. Dip into bread crumbs, and tap off excess.
4. Preheat a large skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Working in batches, cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Place on a rack on a cookie sheet and keep warm in a 170° F oven. Continue cooking all of the chicken pieces, adding oil when necessary.
5. To make the sauce, wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.  On medium heat, add 2 1/2 tablespoons butter.  Once melted, stir in shallot and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add flour, whisking constantly for 1 minute.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Add chicken broth and salt.  Allow to come to a boil, stirring constantly. Add lemon juice.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the remaining butter, 2 tablespoons at a time. Allow butter to completely melt into the sauce before adding more. Do not allow the sauce to come back to boil. Remove from heat temporarily if it does. Repeat adding and whisking until all of the butter is gone. Reseason with salt to taste. Serve drizzled over chicken. Garnish with parsley, optional.
7. Makes 5 servings.

Note:

• *I use milk to act as a binder while keeping the breading light. If you want a thicker breading, use beaten eggs with a splash of milk or use eggs only.

Keywords:Chicken Piccata, Lemon Butter Sauce, Italian, Lightly Battered

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