Chicken Piccata. Old School, man. Old School.
Chicken Piccata. There’s a dish you won’t find in the cutting-edge Manhattan culinary scene. Well, unless it’s served with caper foam, a savory lemon popsicle and parsley fairy dust. But I’m not afraid to go Old School on you with the real deal. Let’s bring it on. Old School.
The Prep:
This was for a family dinner party with 11 people:
The chicken:
- 12 or more boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Halved and lightly pounded flat with meat mallet. “Paillards.”
- Marinate overnight in salted water. I used some chicken stock too. I suddenly had like 8 boxes of that for some reason.
- Drain, pat dry with paper towel. Toss each piece in flour seasoned with S&P and garlic powder.
- In batches, brown on both sides in a bit of oil.
The sauce:
- Reduce a couple boxes of chicken stock with a slug of white wine.
- Add juice from a couple lemons and a knob of butter.
- Thicken with a cornstarch slurry – cornstarch stirred up in a bit of cold water.
The wedding:
- Paillards into a casserole dish.
- Sauce over, handful of capers, slices of lemon.
- About 20 minutes before service, into 350° oven.
- Just before service, cast a fistful of chopped parsley over.
The Takeaway:
I adapted this from one of my mother-in-law’s recipes. Served it with pasta fagioli. That’s right. Pasta fagioli.
p.s. – check out Chef Pauley Boy’s new blog: Hoboken Foodie
TAGS
Pam
Going to Whole Foods to get the ingredients! Putting the chickens in the salted water bath tonight to get it ready in time for dinner tomorrow…
GHT
great- let me know how it turns out!
Julie
Love the old school…but what is your pasta fagioli recipe?!
GHT
ok, will queue that one up!
Ryan
First GHT recipe attempted and while I need to get used to your measurement system (e.g., slub, knob, handful), it was quite a success with the family so thanks for the help. Notably, a potato masher seems to work in place of a meat mallet if for some reason you happen to have the former and not the latter in your kitchen.
GHT
Great! glad to hear it came out well. Let me know if you ran into any kinks that need clarity…
Scott Wallask
Worked at home one day this week, so I got to skip a rush hour and surprise the missus and the kids with a “real meal” from dad. This dish was quite good, and the lemon zip you usually get from piccata was nicely muted with this recipe. I love Ryan’s idea about the potato masher — I dented a can flattening the meat. I guess we all need to invest in mallets, ha.
GHT
nice! glad you enjoyed. Another cooking dad!!