Chicken Piccata

Why This Chicken Piccata Works

Pounding the chicken to an even thickness means it cooks at the same speed, so the thin ends do not dry out while the thick center is still raw. Once the chicken goes into the seasoned flour, a light coating forms on the outside. During cooking, that flour sticks to the meat and turns into a thin crust. That crust keeps the surface from drying out too fast and holds on to some of the butter and oil, so the chicken stays moist inside while it browns.

As the chicken browns in the butter and olive oil, little browned bits stick to the bottom of the pan. After the chicken comes out, the lemon juice and chicken broth hit the hot pan and loosen those bits. The flour left in the pan mixes into the liquid and the sauce starts to thicken slightly as it boils. Capers go in and spread through the sauce, and when the chicken goes back in, it soaks up some of that lemony liquid. At the end, the last butter melts into the pan and smooths out the sauce so it lightly coats the chicken instead of running off.

Mistakes To Avoid

Cutting the chicken too thick means the outside browns before the inside cooks through. The pan ends up with very dark bits while the centers of the breasts stay slightly raw or need much longer, which dries the meat out.

Letting the chicken sit too long in the flour mixture or using way too much flour creates a thick, pasty coating. In the pan this coating soaks up the fat, turns gummy instead of crisp, and later makes the sauce heavy and a bit gluey instead of light.

When the pan is too crowded, the chicken steams instead of searing. The pieces turn pale and soft rather than golden, and there are fewer browned bits on the bottom, so the sauce comes out weaker and less rich in texture.

Adding the butter for the sauce too early, before the liquid has simmered, causes it to melt into a thin, oily pool. The sauce never thickens slightly, so it slides off the chicken instead of clinging in a smooth, glossy layer.