Chicken Piccata

Our chicken piccata recipe brings all the best parts of the tangy, deliciously saucy restaurant dish to your table. To ensure the chicken stays moist and juicy, we begin by slicing each breast in half lengthwise, then pounding it to an even thickness. It’s then dredged in seasoned flour—key for both browning and flavor—before pan-frying in a mixture of olive oil and butter. And that sauce? It takes less than five minutes to make and has just the right amount of lemon juice, capers, wine, and butter to produce a bright, silky finish for the cutlets. While we love this dish with chicken, it's equally delicious made with veal or pork cutlets instead.

You can have the whole thing on the table in less than half an hour, though it will taste like you spent way more time making it than you did. Quick enough for a weeknight but elegant enough for company, this one deserves a place in your repertoire.

Jacob Fox

How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast in 3 Simple Steps

Dos and Don'ts for Perfect Piccata

Do pound the chicken: Lean chicken breast is prone to drying out, which is why it's often pounded thin for a quick, even cook. After butterflying the breast, place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment on top and use a meat mallet or small, heavy skillet to pound it to an even thickness.

Don't skip the dredge: Coating the cutlets in a bit of flour not only helps with browning but also thickens the sauce, keeping it from running right off of the chicken later on. For a gluten-free alternative, use a cup-for-cup flour blend or swap in rice flour instead.

Do use more than one fat: A combination of butter and olive oil is key to cooking these cutlets. The butter gives them fantastic flavor, especially as the milk solids brown, while the addition of oil increases the smoke point, keeping the butter from burning.

Don't overcook: To save yourself from a dry, tough piccata, don't leave the chicken in the pan for too long. It's ready to flip when the outside of the cutlet turns opaque. Give it two more minutes on the second side, then transfer it to a plate. You're looking for a bit of golden color, but not a deeply browned crust.

This recipe calls for salt-cured capers, which need to be soaked in water for about 20 minutes to rehydrate before using. They have a robust flavor and are shelf-stable, so you can hang onto them for quite some time. Brined capers, which are packed in vinegar, have a tangier taste but are just as delicious. You can swap them in here with equally good results.

The Right Pan for This Recipe

Use a large enough skillet—ideally 12 inches in diameter—to avoid overcrowding the cutlets. We love a high-sided skillet for pan-frying as it tends to reduce splatter, but a pan with sloped sides will work fine as well.

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Ingredients

• 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

• 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

Directions

Jacob Fox

1. Pound chicken:

   Place chicken between plastic wrap and pound evenly until about 1/4 inch thick.

   

   Jacob Fox

2. Dredge chicken in flour:

   Spread flour in a shallow dish; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; whisk to combine. Place chicken in seasoned flour, turning to coat thoroughly, then tap off the excess.

   

   Jacob Fox

3. Cook chicken:

   Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter starts to sizzle. Cook the chicken in batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding the pan (the cutlets should fit snugly in a single layer) until golden and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes for each side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and tent loosely with foil to keep warm. Pour out any excess fat from the pan.

   

   Jacob Fox

4. Add wine and deglaze pan

   Return pan to medium heat and add wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and add lemon juice, capers, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Swirl until melted and combined, then add parsley and season with salt as desired.