Chicken Piccata

This is a classic Italian dish that has a gourmet look and taste with a simple recipe. Combining the tastes of lemon, capers, and white wine this is a unique way of serve chicken. For a meal, combine this entrée with Cacio e pepe (cheese pasta) and Focaccia bread, or garlic bread.

The two tricks to successfully making chicken piccata is how thin the raw meat and how you prepare the sauce. The process section details how to do both. A final note, I usually use thighs because I do not really care for the dry texture of chicken breasts but that’s a personal call.

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (~6 oz. ea.)
  • Flour, for dredging
  • 4 TBL olive oil – extra virgin for sauté
  • 4 TBL butter – 1/2 stick
  • 2 lemons – One juiced and one thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 TBL capers – rinsed
  • 4 oz. dry white wine – okay to use the cheap stuff
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley tops – finely chopped
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Process

  1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare ingredients prior to starting
  2. Prepare chicken: Clean any fat and skin pieces from chicken.
    1. First butterfly the meat: cut horizontally across the breast but not all the way through. When done it should open like a book.
    2. Tenderize the meat: Place the meat between two pieces of film and pound it with flat mallet (like you do with Chicken Kiev) to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
  3. Place a covered cast iron pan and a serving platter in the oven set to 250 degrees F.
  4. Dredge the chicken: Pour flour into shallow bowl or pan. Salt and pepper each piece of meat and then coat in flour. Shake off excess.
  5. Heat a large skillet over medium. Pour 2 TBL olive oil into skillet along with 2 TBL butter. Cook chicken in batches, turning twice, until lightly brown on each side. Add more olive oil and butter as necessary. Transfer to the covered pan.
  6. Make the lemon-butter sauce.
    1. Melt 4 TBL butter in the sauté pan.
    2. Add the lemon slices and lightly brown.
    3. Add the garlic and stir 1 minute.
    4. Add the capers.
    5. Deglaze the pan with the wine and add the lemon juice and parsley.
  7. Slide the chicken back onto the serving platter and coat with the sauce.
  8. If plating, place chicken on plate with other sides and drizzle sauce over chicken and plate (in a creative way).
  9. Serve with pasta side and slices of the warm bread.
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