Have you ever been intimidated by a recipe because of its name? Um, yes.. absolutely. If it sounds too Italian or French, I just assume it’ll be too complicated for me to handle. That was my thinking towards Chicken Piccata for so, so long.
I always just thought of it as a dish I eat at restaurants, not something to eat at home. Oh my goodness, was I so off! Chicken Piccata is one of the absolute easiest things to cook! It takes hardly any time, but in that little time a beautiful meal is made. I would even say this is a great beginner dish. Chicken breast is really easy to overcook, but in this recipe it stays completely tender & juicy.
Chicken breast is a must in this dish. Now I love chicken thighs & that’s pretty much my go-to at all times, but Piccata has to be chicken breast. Those are just the rules of the game, my friend.
One of the most important steps is to pound out the chicken breast with a kitchen mallet until it is very thin & tender. You can also use chicken cutlets ( which are already thin ), but the chicken may not be as tender.
Once the chicken is all tender & ready to go, I get my dredge ready.
In one bowl I whisk 3 eggs & then in another flour with salt, pepper & garlic powder. Then I first place the chicken in the egg, making sure both sides are coated well & then do the same with the flour mixture. Very simple!
In a cast iron skillet I bring canola oil & butter to medium high heat. Here comes the good part. Once the skillet is hot, I add my chicken. Oh that sizzle! I cook it for about 5 minutes on the first side & then 2-3 on the other.
It gets so golden & crisp. Holy cow! I’m in love!
After the chicken has cooked, I remove it to a side plate. Now comes the fun part.. the sauce!
I lower the heat to medium low & to the skillet I add some white wine ( I like to use sauvignon blanc ) & chicken stock. I make sure I scrape up all those little cracklings from the chicken with my whisk. Yum.
I let the sauce simmer & reduce for about 5 minutes until it’s finally time for my favorite ingredient! The capers! I love, love, love capers. They are so salty & just completely amazing. I turn off the heat to my skillet & dump as many capers as I possibly can without them taking over the dish. Then I add the zest & juice of ½ of a lemon – you may need a whole lemon if it’s not juicy enough.
You should always be tasting at every step. If you like a lot of lemon, add more lemon. If you don’t, add less. Same goes for salt & pepper.. which you should also do now!
I always like to add a tablespoon of butter to every sauce once it’s finished cooking – it gives it such a beautiful gleam.
Then it’s just a matter of adding the chicken back to the skillet & spooning the luscious sauce & capers all over it.
It’s time to stop viewing Piccata as a restaurant treat. It’s so easy, quick & delicious that it should be part of all of our cooking repertoire. It’s time to get cooking!
Bon Appetit!
ellyn
Ingredients:
Always: salt, pepper & garlic powder
- 3-4 chicken breast
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons Canola oil
- 3 tablespoons Butter – divided
- ½ cup white wine * can omit & replace with chicken stock.
- ½ cup chicken stock
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of ½ – 1 lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons capers
Instructions:
- Begin by taking a kitchen mallet & pounding out the chicken until it is very thin & tender.
- In one bowl, whisk eggs. In another bowl, add flour, ½ tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons pepper ( more if you like spice ), & 2 teaspoons garlic powder.
- Dredge chicken – first in eggs, making sure it is fully coated & then into the flour – making sure it is fully coated, but shake off any excess.
- In a cast iron skillet bring canola oil & 2 tablespoons of butter to medium high heat. Once completely melted & hot – add chicken.
- Cook chicken on the first side for 5 minutes, flip & cook for another 2-3 minutes ( or until both sides are brown & crisp. )
- Remove chicken from skillet.
- Lower heat to medium. Add wine & chicken stock. While whisking, scrape up all the cracklings from the chicken.
- Let the sauce simmer & begin to reduce by ½, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add lemon zest, juice & capers. Taste to check if it needs salt or pepper!
- Add the chicken back to the skillet & spoon over the sauce. Serve with extra lemon wedges.
- Enjoy!
