Chicken Piccata

This Chicken Piccata recipe features thinly pounded, flour-dredged chicken cutlets pan-fried to a golden crisp. It's finished with a vibrant, tangy sauce made from dry white wine, fresh lemon juice, briny capers, and butter, all topped with fresh parsley. A quick and elegant main course.

Print Recipe

Course lunch/dinner

Cuisine French

Servings 4 people

Calories 1033.4 kcal

Equipment

1 Large Skillet Heavy-bottomed for even searing and sauce preparation.
1 Cutting Board
1 Sharp Chef's Knife
1 Meat Mallet/Pounder For flattening chicken breasts evenly.
1 Shallow dish For dredging chicken in flour.

Ingredients

Main

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, halved horizontally
¼ cup all-purpose flour sifted
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons salt-packed capers soaked in water 20 minutes, then drained, rinsed, and drained again
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Halve chicken breasts horizontally, place between plastic wrap, and pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Season well with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.
Sift all-purpose flour onto a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken cutlet thoroughly in flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; once melted, add chicken (in batches if needed) and cook 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside on a plate; keep warm.
Add dry white wine to the hot skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 1 minute.
Stir in fresh lemon juice and thoroughly rinsed capers. Bring to a gentle simmer for 1-2 minutes to slightly reduce the sauce.
Remove the skillet from heat. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, one piece at a time, until the sauce is emulsified and slightly thickened.
Return the cooked chicken cutlets to the skillet, turning them gently to coat evenly with the piccata sauce.
Garnish generously with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Serve the Chicken Piccata immediately, perhaps with pasta or a side of vegetables.

Notes

For perfectly tender chicken, pound the breast halves evenly thin (about 1/4-inch) before seasoning. This ensures quick and uniform cooking. When searing, avoid overcrowding the pan; cook in batches to achieve a beautiful golden crust without steaming the chicken. Deglaze the pan thoroughly with white wine to capture all the flavorful fond. Swirl in the butter off the heat at the end to create a rich, emulsified sauce. Always use salt-packed capers for superior flavor and texture, but rinse them meticulously to remove excess salt. A final squeeze of fresh lemon juice before serving can brighten the entire dish.