Ah, chicken. It’s one of the most versatile proteins, one of the tastiest, but can also get boring if you’re eating it all the time. Somehow, though, I almost never get bored of having chicken on the dinner table. One way to keep things exciting is to spice up a standard meal with different sauces. This is not just a chicken piccata post, but also a basic chicken preparation recipe for many other recipes that I’ll be posting over time. Of course, I’m posting piccata first because it’s one of my all time favorite sauces. Enjoy!

Ingredients – Chicken Preparation

• 1.5 – 3 lbs of chicken breast, boneless and skinless
• 1-2 large eggs, beaten
• Flavored panko breadcrumbs

Ingredients – Chicken Piccata

• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup of diced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 large lemon, sliced into 1/4″-thick slices
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 T capers, rinsed
• 3 T unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces
• 2 T minced fresh parsley

Instructions – Chicken Preparation

• Rinse chicken and dry with paper towels.
• Place 2 pieces of plastic wrap on a large cutting board.
• Place chicken on top of plastic wrap.
• Place 1 piece of plastic wrap over the chicken.
• Pound the chicken into thin pieces (about 1/8″ thick)
• Using kitchen shears, cut into small serving size pieces.

    

• Set up and “assembly line” on the counter nearby.
  • (1) small bowl with the eggs,
  • (2) plate with a layer of panko bread crumbs
  • (3) empty plate
• Using a fork or tongs, pick up a piece of chicken, dip it into the eggs, then place it on the bread crumbs.

  

• Flip chicken over and make sure both sides are well covered in bread crumbs.
• Place chicken on empty plate.
• Repeat until all the chicken is breaded. Add more panko to plate (2) as needed.

    

• Heat 2 T of olive oil in large frying pan.
• Add chicken to heated frying pan (keep them separated) and brown on both sides.
• Drain chicken on paper towel.
• Repeat – add oil to frying pan and brown additional chicken until all the chicken is cooked.

  

Instructions – Chicken Piccata Sauce

• Add 2 T of olive oil to medium or large frying pan and heat over medium heat.
• Add onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the chicken broth and lemon slices. Simmer until reduced and slightly thick, about 8 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice and capers. Turn the eat to low.
• Add the butter pieces. Cook on low until butter is fully melted. Stir.

    

• Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and salt/pepper to taste.

• Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.

Ideas

• If desired, you can use the same pan to make the sauce as you did to cook the chicken. This will add additional flavor to your piccata sauce, but will also add a lot of time as you cannot cook simultaneously.
• I use powdered chicken bullion, so just make my broth a little stronger in lieu of adding salt at the end.
• What to serve with this? Mashed potatoes are always great, or you can try something different like I did by using some Spaetzle. Spaetzle is a German potato pasta. You can find this at World Market/Cost Plus or most any store that sells international food. Just add to a pot of salted boiling water and cook until softened.
• Piccata sauce is so yummy. Be sure to add some to your potatoes or spaetzle too!
• And don’t forget a vegetable! Mine is served with cauliflower, but whatever you prefer.
• Panko breadcrumbs – usually I use Italian flavored, but with piccata, lemon peppered is the best.