Chicken Piccata

5 Servings
55 min

When my husband and son make special requests for dinner, Chicken Piccata is usually the dish of choice. My version started out as a copycat of a local Italian restaurant’s recipe. The place has been around for ages and is well known for its chicken piccata. Their sauce consists of almost entirely butter, but it’s SO good...super rich, buttery and delicious!


Over time, I lightened up my piccata a bit, but make no mistake, it’s NOT health food!). The sauce is less buttery and more lemony than the original. Surprisingly enough, both of my guys liked my lightened chicken piccata more! Breaded chicken breast and lemon butter sauce is such a magical combination, even without the ungodly amount of butter. We rarely go to the restaurant anymore for the dish.


An element that I kept the same as the restaurant’s was the exclusion of capers. Most chicken piccata recipes have them, but the restaurant didn’t have it in theirs. And my husband, the caper hater, prefers it without caper. Feel free to add them if you don’t have caper haters in your household.


Original post and additional images are at In Good Flavor.

Recipe details
  • 5  Servings
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 40 Minutes Total time: 55 min
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Ingredients
For the chicken:
  • 5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 3 1/2 pounds
  • 1 1/2 cups flour for dredging
  • 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning chicken
  • Oil for cooking
Lemon Butter Sauce:
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
  • 10 tbsp. butter
  • 4 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
  • 2 tbsp. finely diced shallot, 1 small bulb
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions

Butterfly each breast by making a slit all the way down the middle, stopping about 1/3 inch short of cutting all the way through. The chicken should open up like a book. Use a meat mallet to evenly flatten the chicken to 1/3 inch thick. Generously season each side with salt and pepper.
Place the flour, milk, and bread crumbs in separate shallow plates.
Dip each piece of chicken into the flour, tap off excess. Dip into milk. Dip into bread crumbs, tap off excess.
Preheat a large skillet on medium to medium high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of skillet. Working in batches, cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Place on a rack on a cookie sheet and keep warm in a 170 degrees oven. Continue cooking all of the chicken pieces, adding oil when necessary.
To make the sauce, wipe out skillet with a paper towel. On medium heat add 2 1/2 tablespoons butter. Once melted, stir in shallot and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add flour, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium high. Add chicken broth and salt. Allow to come to a boil, stirring constantly. Add lemon juice.
Reduce heat to medium low. Whisk in the remaining butter, 2 tablespoons at a time. Allow butter to completely melt into sauce before adding more. Do not allow sauce to come back to boil. Remove from heat temporarily if it does. Repeat adding and whisking until all of the butter is gone. Reseason with salt to taste. Serve drizzled over chicken. Garnish with parsley, optional.
Makes 5 servings.
Tips
  • Total cook time is for cooking the chicken breasts one at a time. If you want to use two skillets, the total cook time will be reduced.
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