Lemon Chicken

Sunshine on a Plate

This is one of those recipes that makes you feel like a proper chef even though it takes about 20 minutes and uses ingredients you probably already have. Bright, zesty lemon meets rich, buttery pan sauce, and together they turn a plain chicken breast into something you would happily order at a nice restaurant. Except you are at home in your sweatpants, which honestly makes it even better.

I make this at least twice a month. It is elegant enough for date night, simple enough for a Tuesday, and the pan sauce is so good you will want to drink it straight. Please do not judge me for saying that.

Getting the Chicken Right

Butterfly the chicken breasts by slicing them horizontally, or pound them to an even half-inch thickness between sheets of plastic wrap. Even thickness is the whole game here. It means every part of the breast finishes cooking at the same time, so you never end up with that awful dry-on-the-edges, raw-in-the-middle situation.

Season both sides with salt and pepper, then give them a light dusting of flour. The flour does double duty: it creates a delicate golden crust and it helps the sauce cling to the chicken later.

Heat olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter foams, lay the chicken in. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a warm plate and tent loosely with foil while you make the sauce.

The Lemon Butter Sauce That Changes Everything

In the same skillet with all those gorgeous browned bits still in it, add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in half a cup of chicken broth and the juice of 2 fresh lemons. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up every single browned bit from the bottom of the pan. Those bits are pure flavor gold.

Let the liquid simmer and reduce by about half. This concentrates the flavors and gives the sauce body.

Now pull the pan off the heat and swirl in the remaining cold butter, one tablespoon at a time. Adding cold butter off the heat is the trick to a silky, emulsified sauce that clings to the chicken instead of separating into a greasy puddle. Stir in fresh parsley and capers if you are using them.

Serve It Up

Slide the chicken back into the pan briefly to coat in that beautiful sauce. Plate it up with the pan sauce spooned generously over the top, garnished with thin lemon slices and more fresh parsley. Roasted potatoes, rice pilaf, or a crisp green salad alongside, and you have yourself a meal that looks like it took an hour but secretly took twenty minutes.

Tina's Tips

• Use fresh lemons, never bottled juice. The flavor difference is enormous. Bottled lemon juice has a flat, almost metallic taste compared to fresh-squeezed.
• Pound your chicken to even thickness. This is the single most important step for juicy, evenly cooked chicken. Uneven breasts are the enemy.
• Swirl in cold butter off the heat for a silky sauce. If the pan is too hot, the butter will separate instead of emulsifying. Off. The. Heat.
• Add capers for a little salty punch. They are optional, but once you try them in this sauce, you will never leave them out again.
• This sauce works beautifully on fish too. Try it over pan-seared salmon or halibut for a restaurant-quality seafood dinner.