Chicken Piccata

Ingredients You’ll Need:

For the chicken:

• Butter – Unsalted butter is best. The capers add plenty of salty flavor to this recipe, so avoid salted butter.
• Olive Oil – Use a good quality olive oil for the best flavor.
• Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are what you need. You’ll need to slice them in half and trim the fat as needed.
• Flour – All purpose flour is what you’ll need to dredge the chicken in. Use gluten free all purpose flour if needed.
• Parmesan Cheese – For the best flavor and consistency, use freshly grated parmesan cheese. Check your local deli, as they sometimes have containers of pre-grated fresh parmesan available for purchase.
• Salt and Black Pepper – Don’t be too heavy handed with salt since there is salt in capers.

For the sauce:

• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Garlic – You can mince or press your garlic. Either way, make sure it’s fresh and not pre-minced. The aroma and flavor of the fresh garlic is key to making good Chicken Piccata!
• White Wine – Use a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc of Chardonnay. Do not use a sweet white wine like Riesling, or your sauce will taste sweet.
• Chicken Stock – when available, use Homemade Chicken Stock.
• Lemon – You’ll need the juice and zest of fresh lemons. For best results, do not use bottled lemon juice!
• Capers – This might just be everyone’s favorite Chicken Piccata ingredient! Drain your capers, and feel free to add an extra spoonful or so if desired.
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Parsley – For the best aromatic quality, use fresh parsley for garnish.

Cooking Directions:

Start off by preparing your chicken.

The best way to slice your chicken is by placing on hand on top of the breast. Lift your fingers up, that way they’re out of the way of your knife. Use a sharp knife to slice each breast in half, width-wise. Try to split it evenly down the middle to get matching halves.

Combine the parmesan cheese, flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well. Dip each cutlet in the flour mixture to fully dredge them all over.

Cook the chicken.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium to medium high heat. Once it’s warmed up, add the butter. Sauté the dredged chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Once the chicken is sautéed on both sides, remove it from the pan.

Make the sauce.

Lower the heat to medium and add a little more olive oil and garlic to the pan. Once the garlic turns golden brown, deglaze the pan with white wine. This adds so much flavor to the sauce!

Stir in the chicken stock and allow it to simmer for a few minutes until the mixture it about half way cooked out.

Add the remaining sauce ingredients to the pan. Bring to a simmer.

Return the cutlets to the pan and continue cooking for a few minutes. Finish the chicken with fresh parsley and serve.