This Sheet-Pan Rooster Piccata Is So Good, You’ll Neglect It’s a Weeknight

Rooster piccata, a beloved Italian American dish of fried breaded rooster in a zesty sauce of lemon juice and capers, is a favourite dinner for a lot of. As scrumptious as traditional rooster piccata is, searing or frying rooster in scorching oil can go away behind a messy, greasy stovetop—hardly preferrred for weeknight cooking. That is the place this sheet-pan model is available in.

Like traditional rooster piccata, it is juicy and saucy, with rooster cutlets nestled in a buttery sauce with sliced lemons and shallots. All the things, together with the sauce, comes collectively proper on the sheet pan in a couple of easy steps. I organize sliced lemons and shallots throughout the rooster, and as soon as the rooster is cooked, I take away it, let the aromatics proceed cooking, and deglaze the sheet pan with a mix of capers, white wine, and water. Some butter and grated garlic go in subsequent, and as soon as the sauce thickens, dinner is able to serve. And since all of the cooking occurs within the oven, there is not any want to fret about scorching oil spattering throughout the stovetop. 

Listed here are a couple of suggestions for making it.

For Tender, Fast-Cooking Rooster, Halve and Pound Your Cutlets

Boneless, skinless rooster breast notoriously turns dry and chalky if overcooked. To keep away from this, it is essential to prepare dinner rooster breast properly and with care. To make sure even cooking, I slice a big rooster breast in half horizontally to create two cutlets, then pound them to a few quarter-inch thickness. I discover it useful to position the rooster within the freezer for about quarter-hour first, which corporations the flesh barely and makes slicing simpler.

Halving and pounding the rooster presents two key advantages: It helps the cutlets prepare dinner extra shortly than a complete breast and reduces the danger of overcooking the thinner half earlier than the thicker half is completed. Pounding additionally tenderizes the meat, as former Critical Eats editor Kenji notes in his article about causes to pound rooster breasts. Making use of repeated strain separates and relaxes muscle fibers, making the meat much less powerful. (No meat pounder? A small, heavy pan—equivalent to forged iron or carbon metal skillet—or a rolling pin works properly too.)

Make the Sheet Pan Work Like a Skillet by Preheating It within the Oven

Traditional piccata begins with sautéed or shallow-fried cutlets. On this recipe, I mimic that course of by preheating a sheet pan within the oven, briefly eradicating it to coat it with impartial oil, then returning it to the oven. When the cutlets hit the recent oil within the preheated pan, they sizzle and calmly sear, very similar to they might in a skillet.

To Bread or To not Bread the Rooster?

Some variations of traditional rooster piccata name for coating the rooster in each egg and a tacky breadcrumb combination, à la rooster Milanese, to present it a satisfyingly crispy crust. Different cooks skip the eggs and breadcrumbs and easily coat the cutlets in some flour, an easier route that minimizes mess however nonetheless makes for a scrumptious rooster dinner. That is the route I go for right here for weeknight ease and ease.

For a Sauce With Physique, End With Butter

As soon as the rooster is cooked, you may construct a pan sauce within the sheet pan. Add capers, a splash of white wine, and water, then slide it again into the oven for 5 minutes. The liquid deglazes the pan and loosens any caramelized bits, whereas additional softening the sliced lemon and shallots. As soon as it is out of the oven, you may end the sauce by stirring in cubes of butter. This method, known as “monté au beurre” (mounting with butter) in French delicacies, includes including butter on the finish of cooking so it melts step by step, thickening and emulsifying the sauce for a wealthy, silky end. 

A scattering of contemporary parsley over the completed dish is an non-obligatory however good contact. Serve the rooster together with your favourite vegetable sides, equivalent to steamed broccoli, asparagus, or inexperienced beans, and loads of crusty bread for absorbing the tangy, buttery sauce.

Cook dinner Mode
(Hold display awake)