Chicken Francese

21 October 2022 

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken cutlet recipes are attractive. When done well the chicken comes out tender and juicy, it cooks quickly, and is enhanced by a savory coating which lends either crunch or flavor or both. I don't remember where I learned about this recipe, an Italian-American version of a French dish, but it seemed as if it would make for a good chicken-cutlet dinner. Fortunately I found a "for two" version of the recipe. As usual, the ATK "for two" recipe made enough for the two of us to get two dinners. 

Each of two boneless, skinless chicken breasts was cut into three pieces of about the same size. These were pounded to approximately ¼-inch thickness, tossed with salt and pepper, and set aside for 15 minutes. The cutlets were then dredged in flour and placed on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. A mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil was heated in a skillet. Three of the cutlets were coated with a mixture of beaten egg and water and fried until golden brown on both sides. This was repeated with the other three cutlets. The skillet was emptied and wiped clean to be used to make the sauce. Lemon slices and butter were placed in the skillet and the lemons were lightly browned then set aside. Minced garlic was added and cooked briefly then white wine was added and cooked until most of the liquid was evaporated. Chicken broth was added and cooked to reduce it. Lemon zest and juice were stirred in followed by butter cubes that had been coated with flour. The sauce was cooked until thickened then, off heat, minced fresh parsley was stirred in. The browned lemon slices were scatted over the cutlets which were then bathed in the sauce. Total time was 70 minutes.

These were very good chicken cutlets. They were very juicy and tender with an interesting flavor from the egg coating. I thought they might taste too eggy but they did not. The sauce might have been reduced too much, I should have been more careful measuring the volume while reducing it as the target volume was in the recipe. The sauce was too lemony, perhaps from too much zest, and the lemon flavor overpowered the other components of the sauce. The cutlets were good leftover with gentle heating in a skillet. The browned lemon slices were not attractive or useful. Making this dish was a lot of effort, especially for a weeknight, and it produced a tall pile of dirty dishes, so I doubt this recipe will be used regulalry.