From DN Recipes by David Nagy · Food & Beverage

Chicken Picatta

Published 2026-06-09

Making a piccata

-- Before you begin, make sure all your ingredients are prepped and ready.

-- Wondra instant flour - generally packaged in a cardboard cylinder - is recommended. Wondra is all-purpose flour (sans any chemical additives) that has been processed into a finer, granular form. This minimizes the clumping and uneven coating that can occur with conventional all-purpose flour.

-- Room-temperature butter incorporates into the sauce more quickly than cold butter, so the sauce can be poured over the meat or fish while it is still warm.

-- Choose a good-quality, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron or stainless steel. Nonstick pans don't get hot enough and the food won't brown as well.

-- Place the empty pan over medium-high heat until it is thoroughly heated, about two minutes.

-- Add fat and swirl the pan to coat the bottom surface. Oils like olive or canola are ideal because they have a fairly high smoke point. You can use a mixture of oil and butter to add more flavor.

-- Lay the dry meat or fish in the pan without crowding. If necessary, brown in batches.

-- Do not stir or turn until meat or fish is browned on the bottom. Timing depends on the thickness of the meat or fish.

A piccata primer

A combination of ingredients from these four categories gives each dish its unique flavor.

-- Liquid: broth, sherry, wine

-- Citrus: lemon, lime, orange

-- Cured flavors: capers, marinated artichokes, piquillo peppers

-- Accents: garlic, parsley, nuts

Classic Chicken Piccata

Makes 4 servings

Scallops of turkey, veal or pork make fine substitutions for the chicken. This is cooking at its quickest, so be sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you begin.

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (see Note)
-- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Wondra instant flour (see side bar)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-- Scant 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Instructions:Remove and reserve the small tender from the back of each half breast. Starting on the curved side, "butterfly" each breast - cut it almost in half horizontally so it opens like a book. Each half should be about 1/2-inch thick. (If the breast if really huge, you may need to "double" butterfly it.) Place opened breast between 2 pieces of heavy plastic wrap. Use a small skillet or flat side of a meat mallet to flatten the breast to about 3/8 -inch thickness. Or ask your butcher to butterfly or double butterfly each half breast so its final thickness is fairly even and about 3/8 -inch thick.

Portion into about 8 similarly-sized pieces. Season both sides of each piece with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour and lightly pat to coat the chicken evenly, shaking off the excess. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Heat until oil is very hot. To test, dip a reserved tender into the oil; it should bubble rapidly.

Carefully place half the chicken in the skillet. Saute, without moving, until the undersides are lightly browned, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn chicken over and saute another 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, depending on thickness, until cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

Repeat with remaining oil and chicken fillets. Add chicken broth and lemon juice to skillet. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping pan bottom to loosen brown bits. Cook until liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off.

Stir in capers and parsley. Swirl in butter until melted and sauce thickens. Divide chicken fillets among plates and spoon sauce over.