Chef John's Chicken French

Chicken French has everything I love in a recipe. It's delicious and easy, frugal, yet fancy, and everyone loves it. Better yet, it has a vague, confusing history and completely preposterous name. This not-French recipe hails from the Rochester area of New York State, where it's a staple on virtually every Italian-American restaurant menu.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 627 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ cup dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets, pounded flat
• ¼ cup cold butter, cut into chunks

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Beat eggs and milk together in a shallow bowl. Whisk flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in another shallow bowl.

Step 2

Gently press chicken into flour mixture to coat; shake off excess flour. Dip into egg mixture and coat completely.

Step 3

Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in hot oil until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Step 4

Cook and stir vegetable broth, sherry, and lemon juice in the same skillet; bring to a boil and cook until sauce is reduced by half. Remove from heat and add cold butter chunks; stir until butter is melted and sauce is shiny and thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir parsley into sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Step 5

Return chicken to the skillet over medium heat, spoon sauce over the top, and cook until chicken is heated through and no longer pink in the center, 1 to 3 minutes more.