Chicken Piccata

A perfect weeknight meal if there ever was one.   A super simple recipe with browned chicken breasts in an easy sauce made with chicken stock, lemon juice, butter and capers.

If you are looking for an easy weeknight meal Chicken Piccata has to be one of my all time favorites. There is something so wonderful about a meal with so few ingredients that bursts with flavor, is done in 20 minutes and only uses one pan!

Chicken piccata is simply chicken breast that has been dredged in a little flour, salt and pepper and then sautéed in a combination of oil and butter with a nice lemon sauce on top.

I strongly encourage you to use the combination of oil and butter and not just one or the other.  The oil prevents the butter from browning and burning too fast, while the butter adds a great rich buttery flavor the oil cannot.

After the chicken is done cooking you will be left with lots of bits in the bottom of the pan that are just CHOCK FULL of flavor which we are going to take total advantage of.   Chicken stock and lemon juice are then added to the hot sizzling pan to lift all those flavorful bits and end up in our sauce.

A tip when cooking your chicken:

Let’s face it … pale chicken is ugly and not very appealing to eat.  So how do you get that brown, crispy looking chicken?

It’s easy .. cook it on one side until it’s ¾ of the way cooked.  What do I mean by that?  You can see the chicken starting to turn white around the edges, then slowly turn white towards the center.   Keep cooking it until there is just a little pink left on top.

Turn it over and cook the chicken for only another minute more. This will ensure a good crust and a deep color on the other side.  If you flip the chicken too soon, that’s when it gets that pale looking color and isn’t as pleasing to the eye.

Note:  If you don’t know what capers are they are from the Mediterranean and are very small, round and green.  They are usually picked and then pickled in wine or vinegar kind of like green olives are.

They tend to be on the salty side so it’s best to rinse them in a small colander before adding them to your dish.  Most supermarkets carry them in the pickle aisle.

Chicken Piccata

---

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Debi

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

A perfect weeknight dinner.  Chicken dredged in flour and browned served with a simple sauce of stock, butter, lemon juice and capers.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2–3 Organic Chicken Breasts, sliced in half and pounded evenly
• flour for coating
• 5 Tbsp Organic Unsalted Butter, divided (3 Tbsp/2 Tbsp)
• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ⅓ Cup Organic Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
• ½ Cup Organic Chicken Stock
• ¼ Cup Capers, rinsed
• 14 Cup Organic Parsley, chopped

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Slice chicken breast in half lengthwise (like you are butterflying it) making 2 equal pieces.  Place the chicken between wax paper and pound until they are somewhat even.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add about ¼ – ½ cup of flour to a large Ziploc bag. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
3. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is warm add 3 Tbsp of butter. After the butter melts and starts to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 4 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes or until no longer pink.
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate to keep it warm and repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil/butter as needed.
5. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor and reduce by half. Check for seasoning.  Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and parsley.
6. Place the chicken on a platter and pour sauce over.

I use all organic ingredients whenever possible and hope you do too!  🙂

 Recipe Source:  Food Network

Are you following me on Facebook yet?