Chicken Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce is one of those cannot miss meals. It is light, but also satisfies that comfort craving. It is easy enough to pull together in less than 30 minutes on a weeknight. And elegant enough to serve to friends at a dinner party.
It’s All in the Preparation
Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise and pound them out to ¼” even thickness. It is an essential step for this dish. A quick pan sauté and rest… the result is tender, juicy and delicate cutlets.
Short on time? Most grocery stores offer thin sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
We double dredge our chicken cutlets in flour for our chicken piccata recipe. A double dredge is not typical for chicken piccata, but it’s worth it! It creates a nice crust that stands up well to the pan sauce.
We use a large, 12” non-stick ceramic skillet for our chicken piccata. This ensures a pan that isn’t overcrowded. An overcrowded skillet promotes steam while cooking. Trust us, you want to achieve that golden brown crust.
Before starting the cooking process, preheat the oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s the perfect holding temperature. It keeps the chicken warm without cooking it further. This strategy works well when cooking in batches and when making the pan sauce. Or tent the chicken cutlets with foil while finishing the cooking process.
We use a combination of olive oil and butter to cook our chicken. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter – which can burn at higher temperatures. The olive oil helps us achieve a nice golden color and the butter adds richness to the dish. Watch the temperature and reduce the heat if needed.
For our pan sauce, we deglaze our pan with a dry white wine like unoaked Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Even a dry Rose works beautifully. Choose a bottle that is affordable, but always drinkable. With a wooden spoon or spatula scrape up the brown bits in the pan while reducing the wine. This is major flavor. Fresh lemon juice, chicken stock, and capers are then added to the sauce.
Place the cooked chicken cutlets into the skillet’s pan sauce before plating. This step creates a pan sauce with more body. The flour coating the chicken slightly thickens, giving some weight to the sauce. The pan sauce isn’t done yet. It needs butter to finish and balance it. After plating and before pouring the pan sauce on the finished dish… add the remaining butter and whisk to incorporate. Butter adds a silky richness that balances the beautiful acidity of the lemon and wine. Then drizzle over the plated chicken. Garnish with thin sliced lemon and minced parsley.
Steamed spinach and roasted potatoes pair beautifully with chicken piccata.
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Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner: Garlic Lemon Chicken and Vegetables
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| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
people |
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts skinless and boneless
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter reserve 2 tablespoons to finish the pan sauce
- 1/4 cup dry white wine can substitute a dry rose
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/8 cup brined capers drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley minced for garnish
- 4 slices lemon thinly sliced for garnish
Ingredients
| |
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Butterfly the chicken breasts. Slice in half to create cutlets.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board between two sheets of plastic wrap. With a meat pounder or a rolling pin, pound to ¼“ even thickness.
- Season each side of the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Dredge both sides of the chicken in flour. Shake off the excess. Repeat the flour dredge. Set aside on a plate.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter to medium-high heat.
- When the olive oil and butter start to sizzle, add the chicken. Do not overcrowd the pan or the chicken will steam. The chicken may need to be cooked in two batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. With a meat fork or tongs, carefully flip the chicken away from you. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Alternately place chicken directly on the sheet pan. Place in the oven to keep warm. Or tent with foil to keep warm.
- Drain the excess fat from the pan into a small heat-proof bowl, leaving the browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
- Off heat, add the wine to deglaze the pan. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits from the pan. Place the pan back on medium-high heat and bring to an aggressive simmer until the wine reduces by half.
- Add the lemon juice, stock, and capers. Bring to a gentle simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Off heat, return the chicken to the skillet with the pan sauce coating both sides with the sauce. The flour from the chicken helps to thicken the sauce slightly. Plate the chicken.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the sauce. Whisk to incorporate. Adjust seasoning in the sauce if needed. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with thinly sliced lemon and parsley.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of www.sisterspicekitchen.com ©2017 Sister Spice. All rights reserved.
