Flour & parmesan – For dusting the chicken. Don’t skip this. It gives the chicken a crust that the sauce clings to. Without it, the sauce just slips off the chicken. (PS The additional of parmesan here is a trick that makes this Chicken Piccata a standout!).
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken for Chicken Piccata
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken for Chicken Piccata
How to make Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata is a straight forward, pretty quick recipe:
Pound chicken so they cook evenly;
Dust with flour > pan sear until golden; and
Make sauce in same pan (takes 3 maybe 4 minutes).
How to make Chicken Piccata
Cut and pound chicken – Cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces. Then pound each piece until it is 1/2cm / 0.2″ thick. I use a meat mallet and place the chicken between baking/parchment paper, cling wrap or what is called “Go-Between” which is a freezer film used to keep food from sticking together in the freezer. It’s basically like freezer bags in roll form.
If using tenderloin, there is no need to cut, just pound each piece. If using thigh fillets, halve then pound;
Dust chicken – Drizzle chicken with oil, then coat with the flour and parmesan. Press the chicken into the mixture to make it stick. Shake off excess well.
See comment under the Ingredients above for why a flour-parmesan coating is essential here!
Pan fry chicken in butter and oil until golden, amount 3 minutes. Turn, then cook the other side for 1 minute until golden (I know that sounds odd, 3 minutes then 1 minute, but the 2nd side really does cook much faster than the 1st side!). Once cooked, remove from the pan;
Clean skillet – The skillet will be a bit dirty which will tarnish what is supposed to be a clean, clear sauce. So before we proceed, it’s best to clean the skillet. Pour out the excess fat from the pan, then give it a quick wipe with a paper towel. No need to be meticulous here;
Reduce wine – To make the sauce, add the white wine and simmer rapidly to reduce by half. In this step, the alcohol will cook out so you won’t have any boozy flavour in the sauce. Then add lemon and bring to a simmer;
Swirl in butter – Turn down heat to low, then add cubes of butter and swirl it to make it melt. This makes the butter emulsify with the wine and lemon juice to form a glossy, clear, slightly thickened sauce. The sauce would not thicken as well and it would split if you let the butter bubble and melt over high heat;
Capers & parsley – To finish the sauce, add in capers and parsley; and
Serve! Then serve the chicken pieces with the Lemon Butter Sauce. You’ll notice that there is not a ton of sauce. You don’t need loads, the sauce has enough flavour. From a practical perspective, the flour-parmesan crust of the chicken gets soaked with the sauce, and that’s all you need really, to enjoy this dish. (And regular readers know I’m a Sauce Girl!).
Plate of Chicken Piccata ready to be served
Close up of cut pieces of Chicken Piccata
Serve this with your starchy side of choice and a side salad to get some greens on your plate. Choose from:
Rice side dishes
Potato sides
Vegetable / salad sides
Some suggestions for you:
Enjoy!
