Chicken Piccata on a weeknight? At home? Yes please! This is one of those recipes everybody should know how to make, it seems way fancier than it actually is but I promise it’s super simple. I always have the ingredients on hand so I can make this delicious recipe at the drop of a hat!
CHICKEN ZEST
Chicken breasts have got to be the most popular protein used in the American household. My mission with this recipe was to help you stop cooking it incorrectly so you don’t have a dry and flavorless dinner. This recipe will help teach you how to get the perfect tender chicken cutlets everytime. Topped with zesty lemon juice, briny capers, and fresh parsley you’ll get to devour the most amazing tangy and savory chicken dish.
TWO FOR ONE
When starting out this recipe you will want to make sure you cut your chicken breast horizontally turning it into two ½ inch thick pieces. By doing this your chicken will cook through quicker and ensure a light crispy crust on the outside. This will also help create fond (those little browned bits) at the bottom of the pan which are full of flavor. Add these to the simple sauce of lemon juice, briny capers, and butter is sure perfecton for this Chicken Piccata! My favorite way to serve this is over a bed of angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil and fresh tomatoes. It creates the perfect weeknight meal!
DON’T DREAD THE DREDGE
One of my favorite techniques for executing this dish is to dredge the chicken. Dredging means lightly coating the chicken cutlet in flour. Be sure to shake off the excess flour so you just have a light thin coat. This creates the perfect sear when added to the hot pan giving you the perfect crust on your chicken! I promise you won’t want to skip this step! After your first set of chicken is cooked you’ll want to keep it warm under foil and then wipe your pan down completely. Starting over with fresh butter and olive oil will make your chicken even juicer and packed with flavor. Trust me, you’re going to want to be making this amazing Chicken Piccata on the regular.
Chicken Piccata
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Put one of the chicken breasts on cutting board. Keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board, cut into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Slice horizontally all the way through the chicken breast to make two thinner pieces that are about ½–inch thick. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Put 2 pieces of chicken in the skillet and cook until golden brown on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 1 more minute. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour off the remaining oil and butter and wipe out the pan. Add another 2 tablespoons each of olive oil and butter to the skillet and repeat the same steps for the 2 remaining chicken pieces. Keep all cooked chicken pieces warm under the foil.
Make pan sauce by adding the lemon juice and zest, broth, and capers to the skillet and bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (those bits add a lot of flavor). Cook until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to pan and turn to coat.
To serve, put a piece of chicken on each of 4 serving plates. Spoon the sauce over chicken and garnish with the parsley.
