A new recipe take on an Italian classic, Crispy Chicken Piccata. This is the perfect quick weeknight recipe to add to the old family cookbook. For this recipe, I decided to use chicken tenders.
⬇️ Table of Contents
The word Piccata in Italian means "Annoyed". I'm not sure as to why?..
Why is it called Chicken Piccata?
Piccata meaning, "Annoyed". My thought would be the capers in the sauce ends up being shallow fried. While the capers shallow fry they slightly burst open releasing their flavor. Hence being annoyed, maybe?
What is the difference between Chicken Piccata and Chicken Francese?
Both recipes consist of chicken and a butter sauce, yet the sauce for Chicken Piccata has capers that help elevate the recipe. Both can be made from Chicken, Vela, or Fish.
- Classically, Chicken Piccata only flours the chicken before pan-frying.
- Chicken Francese dredges the protein in egg and flour before frying.
Welcome to my retake on Chicken Piccata, I had fun with the flavor and texture. The first thing we are doing is using a special piece of chicken. Which is the chicken tender. This part of the Chicken is simply perfect for this recipe. The portion size is spot on and helps with the cooking times as well. By the time the chicken tender is golden brown and delicious, the chicken is cooked. That can not be said for other cuts of chicken. They usually need to finish cooking in the oven.
I enjoy uplifting the presentation of food. For chicken piccata I like serving in cast-iron, then adding more sauce once plated.
Video: Chicken Piccata
Step by Step Instructions
-Let's Begin
Start by adding three pieces of bacon to the skillet that we will be shallow frying the Chicken Piccata in and turn on to medium heat. The idea is to cook the bacon to gather the bacon grease. This bacon grease will season/flavor the oil we'll be cooking the chicken tender piccata in shortly.
Take one chicken tender at a time and place between plastic wrap and lightly pound out the chicken. The key is to not over-pound the chicken or the texture will be destroyed. You can use whichever cut of chicken you like.
Chicken Picatta - Setting Up The Breading Station
We will be using a standard breading procedure. Which means into flour first, then egg bath, lastly the breadcrumbs.
- Chicken into flour first (coats the chicken and helps the egg stick)
- Then into the egg (the egg sticks to the thin layer of flour)
- Lastly into the breadcrumbs and cheese (the egg help the breadcrumb stick and creates a nice crust once we shallow fry the chicken)
- Next, add around one and a half cups of oil to the same skillet we cooked the bacon in and turn the heat to medium/high. To test the temperature of the oil you can sprinkle a very small amount of flour into the oil. The reaction should help you determine if the oil is hot enough. You can always use a temperature probe to check. You'll want the oil around 325 degrees, but not lower than 325.
- Add your first round of chicken to the oil. KEY: Be sure to not overcrowd the skillet or the oil temperature will drop too much and you risk having oily chicken piccata.
- Pan fry the chicken tender piccata for around 3 to 4 minutes. All depending on how thick your pieces of chicken are cut. When the chicken is this thin, the chicken will be done cooking once you reach GDB ( Golden, Brown & Delicious ) If using chicken tenders, other larger piece may need to be finished in the oven. Over temperature also at 325.
Lemon Caper Butter Sauce
Super Simple - Start by chopping one medium-sized shallot and one small Roma tomato into medium/small pieces. Just make sure you cut them small enough.
With the skillet over medium-high heat add ½ cup of olive oil & 2 oz of high-quality butter and melt.
Next step is important. Fry the capers in the olive oil and butter. This will flavor the sauce and create a nice texture on the capers. Warning, the capers will burst and pop in the hot oil. Having a skillet cover will help reduce the mess. The capers only need to be fried for about one minute.
Next, add in the shallots and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. The idea is to cook off the rawness of the shallot, then add in the tomatoes and cook an additional few minutes.
To finish the sauce add about 1 to 2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and finely chop some parsley and add to the sauce. Lastly, taste season & adjust. Like, does it need a pinch of salt? Likely ?
📖 Recipe
Crispy Chicken Piccata w/ Butter Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- Package of Chicken Tenders Use whichever part of the chicken you like best
- 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- ½ Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs I used Italian flavored
- ½ Cup Italian Blend Cheese use what you like or omit the cheese
- 3 Eggs
- 3 Slices Bacon
- 1 Cup Olive Oil Do not use extra Virgin
- 2 oz Butter half stick
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 medium Shallot small/medium chop
- 1 Roma Tomato diced
- ½ cup of Olive Oil Do not use extra Virgin
- 2 oz of Butter half stick
- Sea Salt To taste
- Italian Parsley Garnish
- 1 Lemon Garnish & Presentation
Instructions
The dredge
- Take 3 bowls and place them close together and fill one with 1 cup of flour, next bowl 3 eggs mixed, the last one adds 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs, ½ cup of standard bread crumbs and ½ cup of Italian cheese blend.
- Place a skillet with 3 pieces of bacon on medium heat and cook the bacon. We are looking to use the leftover bacon grease as seasoning to our oil that will be used to cook the chicken with.
Chicken Prep
- Layout plastic wrap and place one chicken tender in the middle and cover with the plastic wrap. Using a kitchen mallet pound the chicken tender into shape making sure to not over pound. Chicken Tenders are very soft and will not take much effort to get into a nice shape for frying. Season each piece with sea salt.
Cooking
- Add 1 cup of olive oil & half a stick of butter to the pan to shallow fry the Chicken Tenders with. The same pan you cooked the bacon in. Melt butter over low heat while you dredge the Chicken.
- Take one piece of chicken and place into the flour and cover on all sides. Then into the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs. I suggest pressing down on the chicken while adding the breadcrumbs. Helps the bread crumbs stick and gives a better-finished texture.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high now. Once up to temperature add in the chicken making sure to not overcrowd the pan. That brings down the temperature too much and will cause the chicken to become oily. Just don't add the chicken all at once and you'll be good.
- Fry to golden brown perfection. You can "hold" the chicken in the oven on low until your ready to eat. Just don't leave it in there very long.
Sauce
- In a clean pan add ½ cup of olive oil plus 2oz of butter and melt. Add the capers to the pan and shallow fry for about one minute. Add in the chopped shallot and cook for 2 minutes. Mostly just trying to cook off the rawness of the shallot. Then add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt along with a squeeze of lemon.
Plating
- Add chicken to a plate and spoon the caper butter sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon. A squeeze of lemon is always nice.
Video
Martha says
Love your videos! When I buy chicken tenders, I remove the ligament...which not only takes a lot of time, it tends to shred the chicken. Is that unnecessary?
Thanks! M
Steven Pennington says
I like cutting off the part that is closest to the thicker end of the Tender. Cutting closer to the thicker end of the ligament is much easier to remove than trying to remove all of it. The texture will still be tender, plus you preserve the chicken tenders shape. Overall, not an issue worth fighting. I would suggest trying to remove what you can without going crazy. Hope that helps Martha.