Chicken Piccata Recipe (2024)

A friend told me years ago that she saved the plastic liners from stuff like cereal and used it to pound meat/chicken breasts etc. The material used for these liners is really tough and a good way to reuse something before tossing it out! I've used them for years now, always keeping a couple rolled up in the drawer with my zip locks. I've used rolling pins, wine bottles and even the side of my meat tenderizer mallet to pound with and these bags have never split, leaked or anything.

Not sure if someone suggested this yet: Blanch the lemon slices before sauteeing them to get rid of the bitterness. I learned this technique from Melissa Clark: %20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=2

Yes! It is wonderful as well and just as delicious. I live in Alaska and have the luxury of fresh and fresh frozen halibut, ling cod and rockfish, etc. readily accessible. This recipe is tasty with all varieties as lemon and capers are perfectly paired with fish. I like to add a bit of Dijon mustard to the sauce as well and if making with chicken, mushrooms. I incorporate a dry wine as well as chicken broth to the sauce. Eat more fish!

A delicious, easy, quick, recipe everyone should have as an option. We followed the recipe exactly except added a bit of white wine to tone down the lemon, and added crispy browned sliced garlic as a finish. We started out thinking we’d do NYT chicken francese but too many steps/time, involved a (workout-sabotaging) fried coating and too many controversies in the comments. Glad we landed here instead. Served with angel hair pasta and NYT Caesar salad, full tilt with 8 anchovies. Perfect.

I like the tip from others to use the zest instead of lemon slices - I’ve made it the latter way for years, but agree the use of zest is better and removes potential for bitterness.Strongly suggest, off heat at the end, whisking two tablespoons of chilled, diced butter into the sauce. Much enriches it and some would consider it original to the recipe

No, no, no to wax paper...it's a petroleum product. You don't want that in your food.

Incorporated more or less the most frequent suggestions: pounded 2 (big) chicken breast in a ziploc bag to make them an even thickness, used Meyer lemon, zested the lemon instead of the slices, used some white wine along with the broth (roughly 50/50 of the liquid used), added some garlic to the butter sauce at the end, and it was GREAT.I was also generous with the Meyer lemon juice, and put the chicken back into the sauce at the end for a min or two. Forgot parsley (guess it was unnecessary).

The first time I made this I thought it was good, but not particularly memorable. Last night I made it again and I used a whole sliced lemon and the juice of a whole lemon with an extra dash of chicken stock and an extra tablespoon of butter in the last step. That extra flavor blast made it delectable. I wanted to just drink the sauce!

Ah! This is one of my favorite recipes with just a few changes. I usually use 1/2 cup of white wine (any old white wine that has been laying around in the frig forever in my 'cooking wine' bottle) in place of chicken stock and I use a full 1/3 cup of juice from a lemon. It does work to use less butter and oil (this NYT recipe calls for 3T olive oil, mine calls for 5T) but you just end up with less sauce. I like to serve it with thin spaghetti. Its a "winner winner chicken dinner".

1) used 2 thighs which I pounded to be evenish, made the sauce with half the fat. Used lemon zest instead of slices which gave great flavor. 2) used boneless, thighs without skin -- seasoned, floured and sautéed then put in a 350 oven while I finished the sauce - lovely. 3) Added white wine to deglaze pan, lightly floured chicken, not dredged. Added sautéd diced garlic and shallot. No lemon peel...just juice. Thickened sauce with small amount of flour and served over angel hair pasta.

Replace half the broth with a white wine (any kind), for a touch of color throw a few red peppercorns in with the lemons. Use Myer lemons instead of the pithy traditional kind, cut them very thin. Works with flounder and veal as well - a good all purpose go to dish.

To flatten the chicken, try pounding it inside a waxed-paper bag from the interior of a cereal or cracker box instead of using single-use plastic. This is not just about Yankee thrift!

I like the tip from others to use the zest instead of lemon slices - I’ve made it the latter way for years, but agree the use of zest is better and removes potential for bitterness.Strongly suggest, off heat at the end, whisking two tablespoons of chilled, diced butter into the sauce. Much enriches it and some would consider it original to the recipe.

Make sure the cutlets are thin or else they take too long to cook.

Magnificent! I used rice flour to make it gluten free, and treated my chicken breasts to a beating before cooking. I placed parchment paper over and under, then pounded with a rolling pin until a uniform thickness—or thinness—was achieved. A bit of seasoning sprinkled into poultry before pounding (depending on the recipe) was an added benefit. Garlic was my choice.

Pretty good, but would suggest using chicken thighs (pounded) instead of chicken breasts. Also, the lemon slices can be quite bitter so make sure to slice VERY thin (and in the future, I'd use Meyer).

This is a magnificent recipe. Simple, easily scalable. It's a family favorite

And use zest! Add some slices too but take them out before they can really cook too much.

Incredible! It wasn't bitter at all and my husband raved about it. It's unreal how good it tastes. Will put this in my rotation. Thank you NYT Cooking!

Loved it the first time I made it but wished I’d used more shallots. Buying the thin sliced chicken breasts is much easier.

Great dish have everything prepped before hand and cover all oven grates etc splashing on everythingn

This was amazing. Perfect for a weekend! Read the top tips because they made such a huge difference. I also swapped the first three tbps of butter for chicken fat. Not sure how much a difference it made but it was delicious.

Medium size lemon…latge was too much juiceShallot is probably key… didn’t have it first time around.A touch of Dijon and white wine in the sauce adds depthDon’t skimp on the capers!Mary’s thighs were fantasticCareful not to burn the butter

So far this is my wife’s favorite, with these modifications:- pound chicken breasts under plastic wrap- dredge in flour, egg wash and pankoThen proceed as directed but double the sauce and reduce until syrupy. Serve with orzo and steamed broccoli. Sauvignon Blanc is a good accompaniment

Loved the suggestions in the comments! I made with far less butter (1tbs at the end), and as I didn’t have Meyer lemons, used zest and juice, also did 1/2 & 1/2 stock and white wine! Fabulous!

Chopped up shallots fine. Added some fresh thyme a few minutes before the end of cooking. Put chicken on platter poured sauce over it, surrounded it w arugula and topped the arugula w chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil, drizzled a bit of olive oil on arugula

Very good. Pretty fast to make too.

I cut the acid with a teaspoon of honey, also used 1/2 cup broth and 1/4 cup white wine. Was great the lemon didn’t overpower and the sweetness helped bring all the flavours together in a beautiful smooth sauce.

This was great I did substitute white wine for the chicken broth otherwise made as per recipe. I did not find the lemon to be bitter but maybe that is because I overkilled on the capers because I love them!

Perfect recipe. Pretty basic and great for beginner chefs. I pound my cutlets under the ziploc bag I typically freeze them in. Not too thin...maybe 1/2 inch thick is my preference. So easy and restaurant quality results.