You will love this recipe for Chicken Francaise
I’m trying not to play favorites for dinner, but a thin chicken cutlet that has been lightly fried with a tangy butter lemon might win. The lemon butter sauce can have a big splash of wine in it, if you choose, so naturally, you must enjoy the rest of the wine with dinner. I love it when that happens! Chicken francaise, or is it truly chicken francese, is a method for making chicken that you should memorize. You can buy thin chicken cutlets, or just cut your regular chicken breasts in half like a book to make two thin cutlets. Dipping chicken in eggs and flour is really just a method for making a thin, crispy crust on it. You’ll want to use this method for many other cuts of meat (especially pork schnitzel). After the chicken is cooked, we’re going to use the leftover ‘stuff’ in the pan to make a lemon butter sauce. It’s a three-step process that will make your favorite chicken dinner!
What is Chicken Francaise?
Chicken Française is a lightly fried chicken breast with a silky delicious sauce on top. The chicken is typically pounded or cut thinly, and then fried in a light crispy batter on both sides. It is served with a thin gravy-like sauce made from butter, white wine and lemon zest and lemon juice.
Easy Chicken Francaise Recipe ingredients
chicken breasts: We need 4 thin chicken cutlets, or two regular chicken breasts, butterflied. To butterfly chicken breasts, lay them flat on a cutting board, and cut through them with your knife horizontally. Use your hand on top to steady yourself, and frequently check to make sure you’re cutting evenly in the middle. 1 egg flour garlic powder salt and pepper butter olive oil chicken broth lemon: We’ll use lemon zest in the sauce to amp up the lemon flavor, and the lemon juice for the liquid. white wine: Adding a splash of dry (not sweet) white wine brings a lovely flavor to the chicken francaise sauce, if you prefer. If you don’t like to cook with alcohol, the recipe is completely fine without it.
How to make Chicken Francaise
How to pronounce Chicken Française
While my second language is Spanish, my knowledge of French is limited to ballet terms! You pronounce ‘Francaise’ like this: frawn-sez-eh. I mean, I think? Please correct me if I’m wrong. I’m assuming this is the feminine version because it has the ’e’ on the end.
What to serve with chicken francaise:
Since this recipe makes a lot of pan sauce, I recommend serving it over spaghetti noodles. You could also serve it over egg noodles or buttered rice. Another chicken and pasta dinner you might like is my chicken bacon pasta.
How to serve this Chicken Francaise Recipe
How to reheat Chicken Française
I always plan on 2 chicken cutlets per person, but because the pasta is so filling, we usually have leftovers. For optimum reheating, store the pasta separately from the chicken. Reheat the chicken in a toaster oven or sheet pan with a wire rack over it in the oven at 200-degrees F for 10 minutes, or until hot. Warm the pasta with the sauce in a small saucepan or the microwave. You can add an extra splash of chicken stock or dab of butter if you think it needs more liquid. Sometimes, pasta absorbs all of the sauce during cold storage. Place the warm chicken over the hot pasta, and serve again.
How to store Francaise Chicken
If you have leftovers, separate the chicken from the sauce, and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. It’s best to store the chicken separately from the sauce so that the crispy coating has a chance to stay crispy. Store the gravy in a separate container. To reheat, place the chicken in an air fryer or oven for a few minutes until hot, and then re-heat the sauce in the microwave. Pour the sauce over the reheated chicken and serve gain. What’s the difference between chicken francaise and piccata?Both chicken piccata and chicken francaise are made of lightly fried chicken cutlets with a delicious sauce on top. However, the sauce for chicken piccata does not contain wine and instead, contains punchy little capers for a salty bite. The coating on chicken francaise is also thicker and more similar to a standard fried chicken, because it is dipped in flour and egg before being fried. Chicken piccata is simply lightly coated in flour before frying and does not have an egg binder. It does not have a thick crust when served like chicken francaise does. Is it egg then flour or flour then egg?Because chicken is naturally wet, it is always dipped in flour first. This creates a dry surface that is then ready for a sticky wet coating next, like eggs. Is Chicken Francaise French or Italian?While ‘chicken francaise’ literally translates to ‘French chicken,’ it is actually an Italian American dish. Naming it ‘francaise’ is a nod to the wine with which it is made. chicken breasts: We need 4 thin chicken cutlets, or two regular chicken breasts, butterflied. To butterfly chicken breasts, lay them flat on a cutting board, and cut through them with your knife horizontally. Use your hand on top to steady yourself, and frequently check to make sure you’re cutting lemon: We’ll use lemon zest in the sauce to amp up the lemon flavor, and the lemon juice for the liquid.white wine: Adding a splash of dry (not sweet) white wine brings a lovely flavor to the sauce, if you prefer. If you don’t like to cook with alcohol, the recipe is completely fine without it.
