How to Make Perfect Chicken Piccata

I'm new to the caper scene. I avoided them for years because I was convinced that briney taste would be similar to olives which used to be too intense for me. Olives grew on me over time and now I love them. But the salty, briney caper - when paired with butter, lemon, white wine, chicken broth and parmesan - is a revelation! I am in love with this dish. And everyone should know how to make perfect chicken piccata. It's actually pretty easy to make.

Perfect Chicken Piccata is Fairly Easy to Make

First of all, chicken piccata is remarkably easy to prepare and I know that I lot of people shy away from it because it looks complex. It's really not. There are only a handful of ingredients and once you make this a few times, you won't even need to look at the recipe anymore. It's a fairly straight foward method to cook the chicken. And I know anything saucy can seem intimidating, but you've got to move on from that if you want to grow - culinarily speaking. 🙂

Lemon chicken is a favorite around our house and when you add that simple, yet luxurious sauce to the mix we can't get enough of it. Here's the thing: plenty of chicken piccata recipes have you choose between adding either wine or chicken broth to make the sauce. I say: why not use both? Really, all that happens when you use both is that your chicken piccata tastes even better! Wine and chicken broth is a great start to a sauce - simple ingredients that can really elevate your flavors.

Making Chicken Piccata with Leftovers in Mind is great for smaller households

This was a great dinner for two and we had plenty of leftovers for our lunches. I'm usually cooking with leftovers in mind, so I regularly make more than we need for one dinner. Why spend money eating out lunch when you can cook delicious food for yourself? Really - in my old corporate jobs I worked with people who ate out lunch every day. How did they afford that? As far as I could tell it costs at least $12 (usually more) per day to do this. And you're not getting great quality food either. It's fast and salty and fatty, at minimum. Save your money, plan your dinners well, and take your leftovers for lunch. Over time, this will save you a tremendous amount of money.

Oohhhh, So You Want More Chicken Ideas? I Gotcha Covered:

• Creamy Chicken Marsala
• Rosemary Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Balsamic Cholula Chicken
• Chicken Parmesan with Mom's Spaghetti Sauce
• Lemon Butter Basil Chicken Cutlets
• Fajita Stuffed Chicken
• Cardamom Chicken w/Coconut Raisin Rice

How to Make Perfect Chicken Piccata

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• Author: Stacey
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 portions 1x

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Description

If you like lemony, buttery, briney chicken you simply must try this outstanding meal. Let me show you how to make perfect chicken piccata.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the chicken cutlets:

• 6 thin chicken cutlets (see note#1)
• Salt & pepper, to taste (a light sprinkling)
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

For the flour dredge:

• 1 cup of flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup finely diced shallot (1 small shallot or use reg. onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 lemon (juice & zest) (see note#2 about using zest)

Optional Garnish:

• chopped parsley
• fresh grated parmesan cheese

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Instructions

1. I used the already-thin cut chicken cutlets when making chicken piccata. (see note#1)Still, I do pound them down a bit more. After that, salt and pepper both sides of your chicken. 
2. Chop the shallot, garlic and parsley and set aside. You can use regular onion if that is what you have on hand.
3. Zest and juice one lemon. See note #2 about using lemon zest. It's for serious lemon lovers. 🙂
4. The flour dredge: put flour on a plate and mix with salt and garlic powder. Grate fresh parmesan cheese into the flour mix and toss together.
5. Cover all the cutlets on both sides with the flour mixture and set aside on a plate or sheet pan.
6. Cooking the cutlets: You’ll cook the chicken in two batches. Heat a large pan on low to medium heat. If you’re making six cutlets, add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and let melt. Place the chicken cutlets in the pan and then DON’T TOUCH THEM. We want them to brown. Let them cook for 3 minutes or so, then turn once they are browned. Cook 2 minutes on the other side, until browned. Set them aside. Add 2 more tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil, then cook the next three cutlets.  
7. The sauce: We want the leftover butter, olive oil and brown bits to help flavor the sauce so leave them in the pan. Add shallots, 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to your pan. Cook shallots a minute or two until translucent.
8. Add garlic and give it another stir. Cook until fragrant - a minute or two.
9.  Add the white wine, chicken broth, 1 tablespoon of butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt.
10. Heat should be at medium and the sauce should reduce by about half. This takes approximately 5 minutes or so.
11. Once sauce is reduced, add capers and chicken to the sauce. Pour any liquid from the plate into the pan as well.
12. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Let simmer a few minutes and the sauce will thicken.
13. Serve immediately. Garnish with parsley and freshly grated parmesan. (optional, but awesome!)

Notes

1. Whenever possible, I buy the thin chicken cutlets rather than cutting a regular chicken breast in half and pounding it. It costs a little more, but it’s worth it. Still, even though I buy the thin chicken cutlets I do still pound them a little thinner to tenderize them. If you are using regular boneless breast of chicken, cut each breast in half to make two pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a kitchen mallet or pan until the chicken is about ¼" thick. 
2. If you don’t want it as lemony you can skip the lemon zest. The lemon zest definitely gives it another kick of lemon which I love, but the lemon juice may be enough for you.