Panko Crusted Chicken Piccata
Crunchy Panko Crusted Chicken Piccata gets a simple lemon butter dressing for a dish that’s satisfying and elegant.
Sometime this weekend, a mouse decided it would be super fun to crawl beneath our floor boards and croak. We don’t know when or how exactly our uninvited house guest burrowed his way beneath the floors of our mud room, but by Sunday morning he was making his presence known with a stench that can only be described as “rotten eggs meets microwaved cabbage.”
We had plans for the day. Plans that involved staying in our PJs until noon, watching Jimmy Fallon with cereal bowl in hand, and then finally finishing up our bedroom renovation.
But the smell of rotting critters has an odd way of disrupting your plans, so instead of PJs and Apple Jacks, we spent the morning wearing those sexy CDC masks and ripping up the floor of our house.
The worst part is, WE NEVER FOUND IT. We tore out the first layer of floors only to find a layer of wool insulation covering up yet another layer of floors. We could pinpoint the smell exactly, but there was no way we could get to it. So in the end we were left with a completely torn up room and a house that still smelled like death. Good times.
I’ve scoured the Internet for advice on this matter, but the tips are mostly the same. You can try vinegar (we are), deodorizer (yep), and bleach (not yet), but if you can’t remove the offending creature, the only option is to wait it out and let nature take its course (yuck).
Since I’m stuck with a house that reeks of decay, I decided now would be a good time to get out of the kitchen and enjoy the great outdoors. I recently discovered I can get wifi at the park near our house (score!), so today’s post is brought to you by free wifi, temperate fall temperatures, and a blessedly fresh, crisp breeze.
This Panko Crusted Chicken Piccata actually appeared on my very first post alongside a scary-bad picture. I’ve made the recipe several times since then, but somehow the recipe has never actually made it onto the site. Today, we’re finally making that right.
Most Chicken Piccata recipes are made by dredging chicken in flour, frying it, then topping it with a lemony wine sauce. This one replaces the typical flour coating with panko breadcrumbs, which makes it extra crunchy (love!). And the sauce ditches the wine and broth in favor of browned butter, lemon juice, and capers.
Here’s why I love this recipe, and why I’ve found myself coming back to it over and over again.
First of all, it’s easy. It takes about 40 minutes from start to finish, and the process couldn’t be easier. It’s also one of those divinely simple recipes that’s elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. The flavors of the nutty browned butter, bright lemon, and tangy capers provide just the right balance between freshness and richness.
Secondly, it’s great for these transition seasons between cooler and warmer weather. The chicken is hearty and satisfying without being overly rich. Steamed green beans are a great accompaniment, and I don’t think I need to mention how fabulous the lemon butter sauce is with the beans. It’s comfort meets sophistication in the tastiest of packages.
So, friends, you graciously listened to my (rather unpleasant) weekend events. How was your weekend? Regale me with your adventures! (And if you have any tips for getting rid of stank, I need to hear em!)
Panko Crusted Chicken Piccatta
This Chicken Piccata has a crispy Panko crust and the best buttery lemon sauce! A great weeknight dinner that's fancy enough for guests!
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves,
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons capers
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice + A few slices of lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Place the flour, eggs, and panko in three separate shallow bowls.
- Butterfly the chicken so each piece is half as thick as it was to begin with. Lay the chicken out on a cutting board, cover with wax paper, then use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound it to a 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat half of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge the chicken breasts in flour, shake off the excess, then dip in the eggs, and coat with breadcrumbs. Add half the dredged chicken breasts to the skillet and fry for 3-5 minutes or a side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Add the other half of the oil to the skillet and repeat with remaining chicken breast.
- When the chicken has been removed, add the butter to the skillet and use a spatula to scrape up any brown bits (that's where the flavor is!). Let the butter cook until sizzling and just starting to brown. Stir in the capers, lemon juice, and lemon slices.
- To serve, plate the chicken then spoon the lemon butter sauce over top. Top with lemon slices and fresh parsley.
Recipe adapted from Food and Wine
People always changing others recipes – lol! I made this tonight with a few changes.too I had to omit the egg dip as I didn’t have any eggs & it worked! I also added heavy cream & chix bouillon to make more creamier sauce, then added the capers. Half way making the sauce, I threw the chix in my air fryer for 2 minutes to crisp it up a little more & Wah Lah – perfection. Thank you!
So glad it worked for you! I want to try the air fryer crisp next time!
This was really good but I generally add chicken broth, a little white wine and then the lemon juice, for the sauce. And I think I was just missing those little touches. Your pictures are beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing.
I saved this recipe to make for dinner tonight. But once I started reading the blog I was really turned off by your dead and smelly rodent story. Really? Talking about this topic and a recipe at the same time is just too much information. As much as the recipe pictures look nice I can’t proceed with cooking it. Everyone isn’t as enamored as you by having dead animals in their house.
Hi Jeanne,
That’s unfortunate because this recipe is really a favorite! I’m sorry if you were offended by the topic. I like to write about my real life, and sometimes real life includes some unpleasant surprises. I always find it helps to keep a sense of humor about it. I promise most of my stories are much less rodent-oriented. 🙂 I hope you can find another great meal for your family to enjoy!
Thank you for the pleasant reply. Your story and the way you described the smell brought me back to a very unpleasant experience I had in a former house. You described the odor exactly as I remembered it. So I think that is part of the reason why I had such a visceral response to your story. Being a city girl and living in the country was not an easy adjustment. Anyhow, we sold that house and onto a better home. Although we do have the cutest mouse living under our porch this winter. But the place is so airtight that his chances of getting in are minimal. I am going to try your recipe tonight. Chicken picatta two nights in a row! I can compare it to the recipe I tried last night and see which one I like best.
Thankfully we are finally mouse free, even in our 100 year old home! I totally understand the reaction. It’s a very distinct (and unfortunately very memorable) smell! I hope you loved the piccata! Can’t complain about having such a great meal two nights in a row!
I made this for my mother and girlfriend and it was excellent. I particularly liked the hint of lemon..We refrigerated half of it and had it for dinner a couple days later and it was still very good. The instructions were very clear and readable.
Thanks so much for coming back to share this! It looks delicious, and I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
I made this Chicken Piccata dish on Saturday with my boyfriend as a date night in. We slightly modified it (added a parm/pecorino blend to the panko, and pan fried then baked chicken) and served it with lemon pepper pappardelle with spinach, basil and sautéed onions and lemon juice. The chicken was so moist and the overall flavor of the dish was amazing. We definitely felt like it was better than any dish we’d had out recently and inspired us to start cooking new recipes. It was great finding this post and we are looking forward to checking out some of your others.
I’m sorry this reply is so late, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed this, and the pasta you served it with sounds amazing! I hope you’ve been inspired by some other recipes on the site as well!
So, first of all, that’s horrifying and unfortunate about the rodent situation – can you employ a friendly neighborhood cat or dog to help in locating the culprit? Second, hopefully the smell of this chicken piccata helped overpower the *other* smell…at any rate, this looks delicious – I’m a sucker for anything involving panko crumbs, so this looks awesome!
I wish! Unfortunately we already have a dog, and he hasn’t been much help. :/ Luckily, the smell is gone now, and it’s all lemons and butter in here!
Could have done without the descriptive story along side the recipe. Not so appetizing after reading it.
I can’t believe you didn’t find it!! That is tragic. Well, it’s a good time to make use of our public parks i guess. Or just brown butter to mask the scent. All. day. long.
Nooooooooooooooooooo!!! Poor you and Will! I think you guys should check yourselves into a fancy hotel and wait out Mother Nature. You deserve it! You guys are champs for attempting to find it and dispose of it yourselves. When I was in law school, we had lockers down in the dank, dark basement of the old decrepit building we were in. It always stank because of the bathrooms so one day, when it was particularly rank, we didn’t think anything of it. The stench just kept getting worse and worse and it wasn’t until there were maggots covering the floor when we realized a squirrel had fallen behind a row of lockers, died and was decaying. I’ll never forget that smell. I imagine it’s exactly what you guys are experiencing! Anyways, enough with gross talk. This chicken is jaw droppingly gorgeous. I can just imagine the satisfying crunch of the panko and the delicious brown butter lemon sauce!
Ahh! Dead squirrel?? That would be awful. They told me it should only take 3-4 days, and if it goes longer we likely have something bigger in there *shudder*. Hoping it disappears so we don’t have to tear part of our house off!
First- this looks so delicious and I can’t wait to make it!! Pinning to make this week! Second- we just had the same thing happen! Good news is that it only lasted like a week, the Renuzit super odor killer air fresheners do help a little!
Thanks for the tip on the Renuzit! I’m glad we’re not the only ones with critter issues!
Gahhhh that sounds awful! I would offer to have you come out here and make you dinner, but it looks like you’ve got dinner well covered with this yumminess. So I’ll come over there. With a clothespin on my nose. 😉
Clothespins are required. 🙂
Oh no! We once had a similar situation in an apartment, and we “think” it was in the air vent in one of the bathrooms…we had to let the smell run its course; so awful. I hope it smells all sunshine and roses….or maybe just panko crusted chicken piccata, soon! This recipe looks delish; I am all about extra crunch with panko, instead!
Yuck. The nerve of those rodents just thinking they can die anywhere they want!