Cooking 101: How to Make Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata with greens.

Here's how to prepare chicken piccata, a relatively easy—but flavorful—dish to make.

I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs, which are usually thinner (and juicier) than breasts. (If you prefer breasts, slice in half or pound a little thinner. Using extremely thin cutlets will result in a overly dry final product.)

Coat the chicken in flour, shaking off excess flour. Heat olive oil and/or butter in a sauté pan and brown both sides of chicken. Remove chicken from pan and wipe pan mostly clean, leaving a little fat. Add white wine and lemon juice to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until strong wine flavor has disappeared and mixture has reduced by about a third to a half. 

Add butter and capers, and stir until butter is melted and flavors are combined. Turn off heat, taste and reseason with salt, pepper, butter, capers and lemon juice. Put chicken back in to pan to warm, making sure to coat with sauce. Finish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Here are approximate measurements for the sauce (tailor to your tastes and double, if necessary, depending on how many people you are serving and how much sauce you want): white wine = 1/2 cup; lemon juice = 1/3 cup; butter = 3 tablespoons; capers = 1 tablespoon.