Name: Easy Chicken Piccata
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian, Europe
Ingredients: 1/2 cup salt; 1/2 cup sugar; 8 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (about 2 pounds), thin-cut; pepper; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tablespoons drained capers; 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth; 1/2 cup white wine; 4 strips lemon zest (each about 2 inches long) and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon

Why This Recipe Works

Increasing the salinity of a normal brine allowed the thin cutlets to reap all the benefits of brining in a shorter time. Brining also ensured the cutlets remained moist while browning. Most recipes for Chicken Piccata removed the chicken and deglazed the pan with lemon juice, but tasters thought this muted the lemon’s bright complexity. Directly deglazing with white wine and broth—and adding a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice at the end of cooking—worked much better. Strips of lemon zest worked better than grated zest. They released flavorful oils while the sauce cooked and could be easily discarded before serving. We used plenty of capers, but quickly sautéed them with a little garlic before deglazing the pan to temper their harshness.

Before You Begin

In step 1, do not soak the chicken for more than 30 minutes or it may become too salty.

Instructions

Whisk 4 cups cold water, salt, and sugar in large bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for at least 15 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

Pat cutlets dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Spread flour in shallow dish. Dredge one side of each cutlet lightly in flour; transfer to large plate. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until foaming subsides. Cook 4 cutlets, floured-side down, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until just cooked through, about 1 minute on second side. Transfer to clean platter and tent with foil. Repeat with additional tablespoon butter and remaining cutlets.

Add garlic and capers to empty pan and cook over high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, wine, and lemon zest and simmer until reduced to ½ cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan to heat through, about 30 seconds. Off heat, stir in remaining butter and lemon juice. Serve.