Chicken Piccata: Pan-Fried Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Lemon & Caper Sauce

Chicken Piccata is simply divine AND easy to make at home too! Once you learn to make juicy, fried chicken cutlets, the sauce options are endless. Piccata refers to the syrupy lemon & butter sauce, garnished with briny capers and flat-leaf parsley.  I add a touch of cream at the end to ensure the sauce is rich and tangy. One secret is to caramelize a sliced lemon at the beginning of the sauce and add them back in at the end. I think it helps the visual appeal. For this dish I used the larger Sicilian Caper Berries. You can also use the smaller capers which are easier to find at the grocery store.

These fried chicken cutlets are also wonderful with a Mushrooms Marsala Sauce, or for Chicken Parmesan!

I had a few friends over for lunch this week to learn how to make Chicken Piccata and Homemade Pasta. We had a great time hanging out in the kitchen! Set up a breading station for quick assembly. Fry two cutlets at a time in olive oil for best results. Darlene is making the lemon piccata sauce. See my blog post on making homemade angel hair pasta from scratch!

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Pan-Fried Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Lemon & Caper Sauce (Chicken Piccata)

Chicken Piccata -Pan-Fried Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Lemon & Caper Sauce (Chicken Piccata)

Course Meat

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Homemade Italian Cooking with Cara

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper ground
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs best to use a combination of panko and regular
• 4 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 lemon cut into very thin slices, seeds removed
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons capers or large Sicilian caper berries, stemmed
• 2 tablespoons Flat-leaf Italian parsley minced
• 3 tablespoons cream

Instructions

1. Carefully slice the breasts in half horizontally. Place each half in a ziplock bag and gently pound the breast with a mallet or back of heavy pan until the breast is an even thickness all around. Repeat until you have 8 same size chicken cutlets.
2. Place the flour in a wide plate or shallow bowl.
3. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together in a wide bowl until blended.
4. Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a wide plate or shallow bowl.
5. Dredge the cutlets in flour to coat both sides. Then dip in the egg mixture, and finally in the breadcrumbs.
6. Heat the olive in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the cutlets two at a time until golden brown on both sides. Place the cooked cutlets on a baking sheet lined with paper towels until all the cutlets are done.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and pour off the oil. Add 3 tablespoons of butter and return the pan to medium heat. When the butter is melted, place the lemon slices over the bottom of the pan. Cook until the lemon slices are golden, about 3 minutes. Scoop the lemon slices out and set them aside.
8. Add the remaining butter, wine, and the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is syrupy, 3-4 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
9. Add the capers, cream, and half the parsley. Place the fried cutlets in the sauce and simmer a few more minutes until the cutlets are warmed. Do not let the cutlets be covered entirely in the sauce or they will lose their crispiness. To serve, place one cutlet on a place, ladle some sauce over the top and garnish with cooked lemon slices and more parsley.