Savory Chicken Thigh Piccata with Luxurious Lemon Caper Sauce

Ok, one rocking week is done, with corporate meetings, managers flying in, corporate events, network screwups, satellites to be connected, etc. It’s just another week in the life of a SecOps operator.

One high point of the week was dinner with my former boss and my boss at a nice, quiet Italian place. We had pasta and antipasto, etc. My choice for my entree was a Chicken Piccata, and it was most exquisite. As usual, I sent photos to Madam Badwolf, and her response was, “When are you making it here?”. (This is one of her splurge dishes.)

One supposes, having been allowed out of my cage for the better part of the week, I should be about it and cook up some piccata.

One of the annoyances of this dish is that it uses chicken breast, which is pounded flat. Can you say from moist, juicy, and delicious to dry as the Sahara in 30 seconds flat?

I’ll take some insurance out by not using chicken breast but chicken thighs. Skinless, boneless, and flattened in the usual manner, they are given a quick dredge in lightly seasoned flour and fried off, thence covered with a luxurious lemon and caper sauce. Serve alone, over pasta, over polenta, or, as I am known to do, over jalapeno cheese grits. Side with a salad or steamed green vegetable, and you have a 5-star meal.

From Wikipedia:

Piccata describes meat, usually veal or chicken, that is sliced, dredged in flour, browned, then served in a sauce containing lemon juice, butter, and capers.

A chicken breast is butterflied or sliced along its width. It is flattened to an even thickness with a tenderizer between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap. It is seasoned and dredged in flour before being browned in butter or olive oil. The sauce is made using the pan drippings. Lemon juice and white wine or chicken stock are added and reduced. Shallots or garlic can be added with capers, chopped parsley and slices of lemon. After reduction, butter is stirred in to finish the sauce.

Chicken Thigh Piccata

The best, fried chicken recipe, FLAT.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine French, Italian

Servings 3

Calories 233 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Chicken

• 3 ea Chicken Thighs Skinless, Boneless, Split, Flattened
• 4 tbsp AP Flour
• 1 tbsp Neutral Oil
• 1 tbsp Butter Unsalted

Sauce

• 1 tbsp AP Flour
• 1 cup Chicken Stock Low Sodium
• 1/4 cup White Wine
• 3 tbsp Capers Drained
• 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
• 1 ea Lemon Zested and Juiced

Instructions

 

• Season flour with salt and pepper
• Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess, place on draining rig to rest 5 min
• In a medium skillet over medium heat, foam out butter, and heat oil to frying termprature
• Add chicken in a single layer, cook to golden brown and an internal temp of 165. 4-5 minutes per side, remove to draining rig
• Drop heat to medium low
• Add 1 tbsp flour and whisk to make a roux, cook until color forms ~ 1-2 minutes
• Whisk in stock, wine, lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce and thicken ~3-4 minutes
• Whisk in cream, capers
• Return chicken to pan, turn to coat and serve, spooning remaining sauce over chicken on the plate, garnish with lemon zest

Notes

The SheWolf’s favorite splurge meal.

Serve with potato, salad, and the rest of the wine.

To keep the chicken splatter down while flattening, I place one thigh at a time in a ziplock and flatten with the back of a cast-iron skillet.

One can soak the chicken in buttermilk for a couple of hours before flattening. Just drain well before smacking it. 

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 544mgPotassium: 150mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 278IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Chicken, Fried, Lemon, Sauce

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