Chicken Francese with Silky Lemon Butter Sauce
By Jonah Pike
10 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Total
4
Servings
Medium
Level
I make chicken Francese for dinner when I need an elegant but simple meal. Chicken cutlets are coated with a batter made from flour and eggs and pan-fried. Chicken Francese is served with a pan gravy flavored with lemon and butter. I like the lemon flavor and pan drippings in chicken Francese.
I cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap before flattening them to about 1/4 inch thick on all sides and preparing other ingredients. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten the chicken breasts. After seasoning both sides, coat them in eggs after shaking off excess flour, which can make the chicken breasts sticky and prone to falling apart when turned or worked with in other ways.
Use a large pan and not too many cutlets at once. You may need to cook multiple batches. Too many cutlets in the pan will result in steaming rather than frying and may keep the coating from browning. Turn the chicken once the underside is golden and transfer to a plate.
After most of the wine has cooked away, scrape the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook the broth and lemon juice down until thickened. I take the pan off the heat and add cold butter, stirring in each piece before adding another. Fresh parsley can be added at the end.
Why we keep this one around
- It is appropriate for a moderately formal dinner and the chicken cooks in quick, thin cutlets.
- The egg and Parmesan coating gives the chicken a soft crust with browned edges.
- A large sauté pan gives you room to cook cutlets without overlapping, allowing you to cook them in batches without whitened breading.
- The pan sauce contains fried pieces of food, ingredients that add flavor to the pan sauce but not to a lemon butter sauce.
- Serve the cutlets right away with pasta or mashed potatoes along with tomato sauce.
- It feeds four people at a small dinner party. No need to determine how many servings it makes.
Ingredients
- •2 large breasts boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs total, halved horizontally and pounded to 1/4-inch thickness)
- •½ cup all-purpose flour
- •2 large eggs
- •¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- •salt (to taste)
- •freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- •2 tbsp olive oil
- •6 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- •½ cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
- •½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- •¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
- •2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- 1
Pound the chicken breast halves to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
- 2
Put the flour in one shallow dish. Whisk the eggs and Parmesan together in a second shallow dish.
- 3
Dredge one chicken cutlet in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip it in the egg mixture until fully coated.
- 4
Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coated chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
- 5
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the white wine and scrape the browned bits from the skillet bottom. Simmer until the wine reduces by half.
- 6
Stir in the chicken broth and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken slightly.
- 7
Remove the skillet from the heat. Whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons of cold butter one piece at a time, until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- 8
Stir in the parsley. Return the chicken to the pan to coat with sauce, or pour the sauce over the chicken on a serving platter. Serve immediately.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
590
Reviews
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