Ponzu Chicken Piccata

To make life easier, click on any underlined items and there is a direct link to purchase - these are the items I swear by…

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ - 2 Pounds Boneless, (thin cut), skinless chicken breasts

1 Cup (est) Unbleached, all purpose flour

6 Tablespoons Salted Irish butter - split into 2 x 3 Tablespoon pieces(If you prefer using unsalted, just salt the chicken before placing into skillet)

1 Cup Buttermilk

⅓ Cup Ponzu Sauce

3 Tablespoons Olive oil

1 Shallot

1 Teaspoon Unbleached, all purpose flour (separate from the cup listed above)

½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

½ Fresh Lemon (sliced thin, less than ¼” thick)

¾ Cup Chicken Broth

2 Tablespoons Capers (Drained & chopped)

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS FOR THIS RECIPE:

8” - 10” Skillet 

Ziplock Bag

Drudging Dish (a rectangular shaped Pyrex type dish works well) 

Measuring Cups 

Plate to place cooked chicken onto

Mandolin Slicer

Tongs

Chopper (I rediscovered my old Pampered Chef chopping tool by making this - Here is a much less expensive chopper )

PRE-COOKING PREP DIRECTIONS: 

Rinse chicken and pat dry (I know experts always say not to rinse chicken to reduce risk of salmonella spreading but I always rinse it carefully with the chicken closer to the tap to minimize ‘splashing’ and then disinfect the sink (twice) and the entire area around the sink with a disinfecting cleaner)

1. Place chicken breasts into Ziplock bag and add the buttermilk (I think this makes the chicken incredibly juicy), seal and store in fridge for at least an hour - overnight is ideal

2. Remove chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you start to actually cook 

3. Take butter out of refrigerator at the same time as chicken, measure out the 2 portions & set aside

4. Peel shallot and slice thinly, set aside - I use thinnest setting on mandolin

5. Take your ½ fresh lemon and slice thinly - I use one of the thinnest settings on the mandolin - set aside

6. Measure out capers, chop & set aside - my old Pampered Chef chopper came in handy but you can also do this manually

7. In ziplock bag, combine 1 cup flour with garlic powder and parsley and shake vigorously, then pour the mixture onto your drudging dish/pyrex 

8. Pat the chicken breasts dry as you take them out of the bag and drudge in the flour mixture - shake excess off  - there should not be ‘clumps’ of flour and set aside

NOW FOR THE FUN PART - COOKING!

1. Once all the chicken breasts are ready to go, turn the burner on medium heat - add olive oil and ½ of the butter, stirring until the butter is melted  

2. Start placing the chicken breasts into the skillet and saute until they are golden brown (about 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness of breast - thicker or manually butterflied breast take about 4-6 min per side) and once golden brown place on a plate

   1. You will not use all the chicken in one shot, don’t try to cram all the breasts into the skillet, you can cook in batches - if the skillet looks dry, add an additional tablespoon of oil between batches

3. When all the chicken breasts are cooked and set aside, add the sliced shallot & fresh lemon slices onto the skillet

4. Keeping heat on med-high, saute shallots and lemons for 2-3 minutes until the shallots look almost caramelized

5. Add the chicken stock, ponzu sauce and all of the capers to the pan, stirring frequently  (scraping the pan to capture all of the flavors) for about 2-3 minutes 

6. Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and lemon juice - stir for 4-5 minutes and then sprinkle in the flour, stirring frequently for an additional 2 minutes 

7. Place chicken breasts onto serving dish/plate and spoon the sauce with capers and lemon from the pan directly onto the chicken breast
   
   Perfectly served with any pasta, roasted vegetables, rice, potatoes, etc… of your choice - Enjoy!