Introduction
This Chicken Francese is a classic Italian-American chicken dish thats easy to make with a few simple ingredients. Made in one pan, the chicken is pan-fried to golden brown perfection, then topped with a flavorful lemon sauce. You can make this effortless but gourmet chicken recipe in next to no time at home.
RECIPE: preppykitchen.com/chicken-francese/
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Video
- Hey, I'm John Kanell.
And today on "Preppy Kitchen," we're, making an easy and delicious chicken.
Francese.
So let's, get started.
First, off, you'll, wanna grab four six-ounce chicken breasts.
And these guys are way too thick.
So we're gonna pound them out with a mallet.
You could also use a rolling pin if you don't have one.
Working one at a time, just place them between two layers of paper, or you could use plastic as well.
We're gonna pound.
These out.
They should be nice and thin, even throughout, about half an inch.
Thick.
Don't, go too hard., Just, slowly, whittle them, down., If.
You smash them, they'll, just be smashed.
A voila.
We have a thin chicken breast, half an inch thick.
Repeat for the other guys.
What.
This is doing is allowing it to pan-fry, so it'll be perfectly cooked through without being burnt or overcooked.
This will also tenderize things and you're opening things up.
So that more sauce can be absorbed by those breasts.
Okay.
My chicken is all pounded out.
There is one more thing to do for prep and that's to thinly, slice a lemon.
Chicken francese or chicken.
French style, which is what it means, is pan-fried chicken breasts with a delicious lemony.
White wine butter, sauce., Ah.
So good., New, cutting board, new me., Thinly, slice one lemon.
This is gonna be kind of cooked on top towards the end.
And you can pick seeds out of them as well.
So that set aside, we'll need some lemon juice as well.
Roll.
One out and have it at the ready.
Now.
We can set up our dredging station.
So for the dredging.
You want one shallow dish with two beaten eggs, in you go.
Beat.
Those eggs.
Nothing crazy.
But you just wanna break those yolks up.
About, a quarter of a cup of flour into the other dredging station., You don't have to be exact with this.
No need for the scale.
To.
The flour, I'm, adding about a teaspoon of salt and around a quarter teaspoon of ground, pepper.
Give that a mix.
And if you have any other favorite flavors, yes, you could add that to the drudging mixture as well.
A lot of dry spices that could go in here.
Okay, grab a large pan and place it over medium-high heat and add about a quarter cup of olive oil to warm up., Once, it's, hot, we're, ready to go.
While.
Your oil's warming, up, we're, gonna dredge our chicken two breasts at a time.
So first breast into the flour.
just get it nice and coated.
Shake off the excess, now into the beaten egg., Again, nicely, coated.
Allow, some of that excess to drip off.
And once the oil is dancing in the pan, you'll, see a nice shimmer., We're, gonna add our chicken breast right? In.
(Pan.
Sizzling).
That.
Shushing.
Sound is exactly what you want to hear.
Repeat for the second breast.
This is such an easy, quick meal.
So if you have nothing planned, you're gonna take about eight minutes to defrost, the chicken, you're ready to go.
This will be done in half an hour.
If.
Your chicken's defrosted already, 20 minutes or less., We're gonna cook our chicken for about four minutes or until it's, nice and golden.
And then flip it over.
The internal temperature should be 165.
So you can do a little temp.
And if you don't have that, you can give it a slice and just make sure it's, cooked through., As.
The first two breasts are cooking.
You can start dredging your next one.
Just have it at the ready.
Our, chicken's, ready to turn over.
Look at that.
Golden color., It's exactly what you wanna see, and it's just perfectly crisp, right? Now., Once, done, remove your chicken breasts to a platter and it's time for the next batch., (upbeat, music), Once, your chicken's out of the pan, it's time to add those lemon slices in.
They're gonna cook and take on some color and soften up., Pop them right into that.
Hot oil, and don't worry.
If there's some bits and bobs hanging out in the pan.
Does, not have to be perfectly clean olive oil.
You're gonna cook them for just about a minute until they take on some color and slightly soften.
Once.
Those lemon slices are slightly brown, you're gonna remove them onto the plate with the chicken.
And here's.
The deal.
Your pan might look a little crazy at this point, too crazy for our beautiful white wine, sauce.
So.
You can wash it, use a new pan, or just give it a nice wipe.
I'm, gonna try a nice wipe.
I'm, not telling you to like take all the flavor away.
But the flavor was captured by the lemons, and chances are you have some browned bits, which are a little bit bitter.
I.
Am actually going to carefully wipe with a steel sponge.
We need some white wine for the sauce.
So I suggest you grab some wine that you are gonna enjoy drinking with your chicken francese.
I'm using a nice Chardonnay.
But so many white dry wines will work for this.
(cork popping) There.
We go.
Half a cup of wine at the ready That's for the food.
The rest is for you and your guests or just you.
Now place.
Your skillet over medium heat, three tablespoons of butter.
There.
We go.
And I have one tablespoon of flour at the ready.
You'll also want a whisk.
So you can whisk it in and make a nice smooth, roux., (upbeat, music), Add that tablespoon of flour, in.
We, just wanna cook it in the butter.
It gets rid of that flour, taste and it's gonna do such a nice job, thickening this sauce.
Just the right amount.
All right.
We just need to cook the flour for a minute while whisking.
Now I'm gonna add my wine in., (pan, sizzling), And, I'm, also gonna add one cup of chicken.
Broth.
A slower, pour is better whenever you're making a sauce, it'll.
Be silkier.
This is pouring crazily.
So do as I say, not as I do.
Smells.
So good though., Oh, my gosh.
Mmm, that butter and flour were just starting to brown.
So you get a nutty depth of flavor, which is really nice.
I'm gonna stir this over medium heat for about four minutes until it's just thickened.
Then.
We can finish it off and get this all together.
A little bit of whisking later.
And my sauce has thickened up, but it's, not a gravy.
I.
Wanna show you the consistency.
You can see on the back of a wooden spoon, it's, coating, it, but it's, a thin sauce.
So.
If you want it to be thicker, I would add an extra teaspoon or two of flour with the butter and you'll have a thicker, more gravy-like.
Sauce., This, however, looks great to me.
So I'm gonna add in the remaining quarter teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, and about a tablespoon of lemon juice.
This will brighten everything up.
Here.
We go.
(upbeat, music), Oh.
My gosh, pow, that is delicious.
Slaps you across the face with flavor.
Now.
We can return the chicken back into the sauce to warm through, as well as the lemons.
So let's place, those chicken breasts right? Back., This time.
It doesn't matter if they're overlapping.
Okay.
Add, those lemon slices back as well.
You can nestle them here and there.
Mmm.
Just go to the edge.
Spoon.
The sauce over the chicken.
This goes with basically anything from veggies to pasta to salad.
So plate it up and enjoy.
That sauce is packed with flavor.
I love the lemon in it.
And the chicken is so tender and just perfectly done.
I hope, you get a chance to make this recipe.
And if you like this video, check out my easy dinner playlist.
FAQs
What is chicken francese sauce made of? ›
CHICKEN FRANCESE IS MADE WITH A WINE AND BUTTER SAUCE
Oh, that sauce. White wine, chicken stock, garlic…and some butter.
The best side dishes to serve with chicken francese are angel hair pasta, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, jasmine rice, green beans, gluten-free pasta, risotto, roasted asparagus, Caprese salad, sautéed spinach, and Parmesan orzo.
What is the most difficult French sauce? ›Espagnole is a brown sauce thickened with a roux composed of brown stock, mirepoix, and tomatoes. Mirepoix is a French aromatic flavor base of onion, celery, and carrot cooked together in butter or oil over low heat, so they release their flavors without browning. Espagnole is the most complex mother sauce.
What is the French method of thickening sauces? ›Beurre Manié (French for “kneaded butter”) is made by mixing equals parts of softened butter and flour. This dough or paste is used to thicken sauces, soups and stews.
What is the best tasting French chicken? ›Today the poulet de Bresse has the reputation of being the best quality table chicken in the world. The chef Georges Blanc, who is from Bourg-en-Bresse, has been president of the Comité Interprofessionnel de la Volaille de Bresse, the association which oversees the product, since 1986.
Is chicken piccata the same as Chicken Francese? ›Besides Piccata being Italian and Francese being French, both are made with chicken breast, but Francese chicken is first dipped in flour, then into an egg mixture before being sautéed. Both are served with a lemony butter sauce, but the piccata sauce includes capers.
Which is better chicken piccata or Chicken Francese? ›The texture is light and crispy. Chicken Francese also has a lemony, buttery taste; however, the tartness of chicken Piccata is stronger because of the capers. Chicken Francese is milder in flavor but still packs a lemony and butter taste that is immensely pleasurable.
What is the secret to cooking chicken? ›Never cook it cold. By allowing chicken breast to come to room temperature, you'll ensure it cooks more evenly once it hits the pan. Plus, by opting for skin-on chicken instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you'll get a more flavorful dish with more texture and moisture.
What is the best way to prepare chicken before cooking? ›Marinate or brine your chicken: For really juicy chicken, marinate or brine the chicken before cooking. Marinades and brine solutions are really easy to make at home.
What is piccata vs francese? ›The difference between the two is for Francese, the chicken breast is first dipped in flour, then into a beaten egg mixture, before being cooked. For piccata, the chicken is first dipped in egg and then in flour. Both are then simmered in a lemony butter sauce, but the piccata sauce includes capers.”
What is the toughest dish with chicken? ›
Turducken
This laborious meal consists of chicken stuffed inside a duck, that is then stuffed inside a turkey. The key to achieving the perfect turducken is, once all meats are deboned, to roast carefully as to avoid drying out the meats and losing any succulence.
Some say Chicken Francese was invented by Italian-American cooks who tired of the traditional way of frying chicken cutlets. Chicken Francaise is said to be a French derivative of the same flour- and egg-dipped chicken cutlets. No matter how you spell it, this is delicious.
What are the 5 basic French sauces? ›The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.
What is the most liked sauce in the world? ›Tomato ketchup doesnt need much of an introduction seeing as it is considered the most popular dipping sauce around the world.
What are four out of five French mother sauces thickened with? ›Four out of the five mother sauces start with a roux. Roux is a fancy name for flour mixed with fat. Equal parts butter and flour get cooked over medium heat, then a liquid gets added. This mixture then boils, thickens (reduces), and becomes the base of your sauce.
What are the 3 thickening agents for sauce? ›- Cornstarch. Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. ...
- Pre-gelatinized Starches. Pre-gelatinized starches are mixed with sugar and then added to the water or juice. ...
- Arrowroot. ...
- Agar-Agar. ...
- Algin (Sodium Alginate) ...
- Gelatin. ...
- Gum Arabic or Acacia. ...
- Gum Tragacanth.
THIGHS. Arguably the tastiest part of the chicken, thighs are little parcels of tender, juicy meat from the top of the bird's leg. You can buy them bone in, or bone out, and with the skin on or off. The meat is darker and firmer than the white breast meat and needs slightly longer to cook.
What is the best tasting chicken in the world? ›The Bresse — This bird, with its bright blue feet, is regarded as the best tasting meat chicken in the world. A Bresse reaches a mature weight between five and seven pounds in about 20 weeks. While they do not produce a lot of meat per bird, that meat is very tender and flavorful.
What is the really expensive French chicken? ›What is the Poulet de Bresse? These special fowl are raised in the Bresse area of the Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France under strict conditions as defined by their AOC certification. A privilege that is usually reserved for dried food, this is the first such accolade given to live animal.
What country is Chicken Francaise from? ›Originating in upstate New York, Francaise, aka Francese, aka 'chicken French,' is an Italian-American creation.
What nationality is Chicken Francese? ›
What Is Chicken Francese? Chicken Francese is an Italian-American dish with origins in Rochester, New York. The dish features chicken cutlets coated in a light batter of flour and egg and cooked in an aromatic white wine-butter sauce.
What is the name of chicken in Italy? ›The generic word for chicken in Italian is pollo (plural: polli). It can be used to refer to the bird itself or the meat.
What wine is best for cooking chicken? ›Both sauvignon blanc and chardonnay are good bets when reaching for a cooking wine. Sauvignon blanc is crisper, while chardonnay more full-bodied, but when using them as ingredients, their subtleties aren't as pronounced.
Do Italians eat chicken piccata? ›Piccata di pollo, or Chicken Piccata, isn't a particularly common dish in Italy, where scaloppine are typically made with veal. But, of course, it's enormously popular here in America. And for good reason—it's one of the tastiest ways to prepare chicken breast.
Why is my chicken piccata bitter? ›Lemons are sour but their skin is bitter. If you do not like bitter, only add the lemon slices to flavor the sauce, but do not eat the rind. Another cause of bitter piccata is if the chicken is too brown and adds a burnt or acrid taste to the sauce.
Is it better to bake chicken at 350 or 400? ›Chicken breasts cook faster at 400 F than 350 F, which is a benefit. However, baking chicken at a higher temperature will increase the risk of drying the chicken breast out. If you have less experience as a cook, baking chicken breast at 350 F will be easier to monitor and ensure you get perfectly cooked chicken.
What is the secret to moist chicken? ›To start, brine your chicken in a mixture of water and a few tablespoons of salt for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will boost the natural flavor and moisture of the chicken breasts and will leave you with a super tender piece of meat. This is the one step that will really ensure your chicken won't be dry or tough.
How do chefs get chicken so tender? ›Velveting chicken. In the cooking world, the term velveting means to pass through hot oil or hot water for a brief period of cooking time. It's a popular Chinese technique that is used to lock in the meat's juices and keep it moist and tender. And good news, this technique can be used on any type of meat.
Do chefs wash chicken before cooking? ›“Although this seems to be a common step in preparation among home cooks and was recommended in the past, professional chefs do not typically rinse poultry,” he says.
Should you oil a chicken before cooking? ›Rub a thin layer of oil or softened butter all over the chicken, paying special attention to the breast and the drumsticks. Be generous here! The fat will help the skin crisp and become golden. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
What is the tastiest way to cook chicken? ›
Cooking a boneless and skinless chicken breast in a hot cast iron pan is by far the easiest and most tasty way to cook the breast. You are far less likely to overcook the chicken breast compared to baking it in the oven or poaching it in water.
What not to do when cooking chicken? ›DON'T wash raw chicken before cooking it
Washing raw chicken risks splashing chicken juices and any accompanying bacteria around the kitchen onto benches, prepared foods and utensils etc.
Chicken breasts are susceptible to drying out when overcooked, so they're best cooked quickly using high heat. That means skillet-cooking, stir-frying, roasting/baking, or grilling chicken breasts are the best routes. The stovetop is particularly easy because you can make a sauce in the same pan.
What is the easiest healthiest way to cook chicken? ›The Winner: Poaching
"The healthiest way to cook chicken is to poach it," Lewis explains, "because you aren't introducing any other ingredient to the chicken other than the water it is boiled in." Similar to the way you'd poach an egg, all you'll need is the chicken you're using and some hot water.
Chicken Française (or Chicken Francese) Also known as "Wedding Chicken", is an Italian-American dish of flour-dredged, egg-dipped, sautéed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter and white wine sauce.
What does the Spanish word piccata mean? ›2023 When used to describe food, piccata refers to meat that's pan-seared and then sautéed in a sauce of butter, lemon and spices. —
What is the most easiest food to cook? ›- Grilled cheese sandwich with a fried egg. ...
- Pizza. ...
- Risotto. ...
- Roast chicken. ...
- Spaghetti carbonara. ...
- Apple pie. ...
- Whole roasted fish. ...
- Cream-based soup.
Katsuobushi is made by repeatedly smoking and drying boiled deboned filets of katsuo. The result is a hard, wood-like block of smoked fish that has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the hardest food in the world.
What goes best with Chicken Francese? ›The best side dishes to serve with chicken francese are angel hair pasta, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, jasmine rice, green beans, gluten-free pasta, risotto, roasted asparagus, Caprese salad, sautéed spinach, and Parmesan orzo.
What is the difference between Chicken Francese and Francaise? ›Is it Francaise or Francese? As it turns out, both spellings are correct. This flavorful dish was first served at an Italian-American restaurant in Rochester, New York, as Chicken French. This is not a classic Italian or French dish.
What is the difference between piccata and Francese sauce? ›
The difference between the two is for Francese, the chicken breast is first dipped in flour, then into a beaten egg mixture, before being cooked. For piccata, the chicken is first dipped in egg and then in flour. Both are then simmered in a lemony butter sauce, but the piccata sauce includes capers.”
Why is it called Chicken Francaise? ›Anecdotal evidence indicates it likely came from Italian immigrants in New York City who eventually moved to Rochester, New York, where the dish gained popularity in the 1950s. It's often called chicken French in that region, even though it's not French in origin.
What does Francese mean in food? ›Francaise means “French” in Italian. Funny enough, this dish is neither French or Italian, rather a 100% Italian-American dish! What Is Francaise sauce made of? Lemon, white wine, and butter.
Why is chicken in France so good? ›However, unlike in most industrialized countries, several factors, such as a treasured gastronomic and cultural heritage, farmers devoted to raising quality birds, and, above all, consumers who demand flavorful chicken and will pay more for it, have led France to raise a large variety of slow-growing breeds, raised ...
What do French people call chicken? ›Answer and Explanation: 'Chicken' in French is poulet (poo-lay). 'Hen' is poule (pool).
What is the difference between chicken francaise and chicken marsala? ›Chicken Francese shares the same basic preparation as Chicken Marsala, but foregoes the Marsala wine and mushrooms in favor of a white wine and lemon-butter sauce.
What is piccata in english? ›Piccata, though, is an Italian word meaning larded. It seems to be a translation of the French word pique (sharp, as in piquant). When used in a reference to a way of preparing food (particularly meat or fish) it means sliced and sauteed in a sauce containing lemon, butter, and spices.
What is the best chicken in the world French? ›Today the poulet de Bresse has the reputation of being the best quality table chicken in the world.
What is the most famous chicken in France? ›The Bresse chicken is a symbol of France with its red-coloured head, white feathers and blue feet. They have been famous since the 1600s when the Duc de Savoie offered the plumpest roosters from Bresse to King Henri IV, who praised them highly for their tenderness and delicious flavour.
What is the most expensive chicken in the world French? ›The poulet de Bresse or Bresse chicken is claimed to be one of the world's most expensive chickens.
How long does chicken francaise last in the fridge? ›
Any leftover Chicken Francese should be completely cooled, stored in an airtight container, and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. While oven reheating is the best, you can also choose to reheat the Chicken Francese in the microwave.
What does buffet mean in France? ›The self-serve meal buffet — from 18th-century French and pronounced buh-FAY — is named after a piece of furniture, bufet ("sideboard"), on which such a meal might be served. The meaning of hitting, however, comes from the Old French word bufe, "a blow" or "a puff of wind," and is pronounced BUH-fit.