RECIPE: Chicken Piccata

Although I already have a recipe for Chicken Meuniere on the blog, when I made this Chicken Piccata I felt it deserved a place on the blog as well. 

Original recipe: Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

Serves 2

  INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
  
• Himalayan pink salt and black pepper
• Oat flour for dredging
• 6 T. unsalted butter
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  
• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 1 lemon, halved, one half seeded and thinly sliced, one half juiced
• 3/4 c. chicken stock
• 4 t. drained capers
• coarsely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

The chicken breasts I was using were ENORMOUS, so I only used two, and I sliced them in half horizontally.  I then cut each half into smaller pieces.  If your chicken breasts are thick at one end, slice that end in half horizontally so that they are all the same thickness.  You can pound them slightly if they're stringy.

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge the chicken in flour and shake off any excess.

In a large skillet, heat 3 T. butter with the olive oil until the butter is melted.  Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, add the chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.

Remove the chicken to a plate, and repeat with remaining pieces adding more olive oil as needed.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the shallot and lemon slices to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and fragrant, 2-3 minutes.  Add the stock and simmer until reduced by  half, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low, then stir in the remaining 3 T. butter, capers, and the lemon juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken back to the pan to reheat, and serve with the sauce on top and garnished with parsley.

Two HUGE chicken breasts, halved horizontally, then cut into smaller pieces

If you're interested in the differences between meunière and piccata, here's what AI says:

• Sauce base
• ·    Meunière: Built on browned butter (beurre noisette) with lemon and parsley; capers are optional and not always present.
• ·  Piccata: Built on white wine and/or chicken stock plus lemon, with butter whisked in at the end so it stays pale, not browned.
• Flavor profile
• ·    Meunière: Nutty, rich, buttery, with bright lemon; more about the brown butter flavor and simplicity.
• ·  Piccata: Sharper and more acidic from wine/stock and lots of capers; the tangy, briny caper-lemon combo is the defining note.