It was a chaotic Thursday night: My 18-month old was on all fours trying to drink water out of our cat’s bowl, the cat was yowling in protest, and, having forgotten it was my night to cook dinner, I was shoulders-deep in my fridge looking for an easy dinner solution. I spotted some chicken and a sad lemon in desperate need of using, and decided on chicken piccata…only to realize we had no capers or eggs. I was about to suggest cereal for dinner before I remembered that my Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague Melissa Gray had recently developed an easy yet luxurious lemon-pepper chicken recipe for Serious Eats—which I had all the ingredients for.
Tender, moist, and packed with a citrusy punch, Gray’s lemon-pepper chicken tastes like a cross between roast chicken and chicken piccata. Not only is it delicious, but it also requires just one pan and comes together in under an hour, making it an ideal weeknight dinner. For all the obvious reasons, it has since become one of my family’s favorite weeknight meals. Here’s how to make it.
How to Make Tender, Moist Lemon-Pepper Chicken
Char your lemons. While many sweet and savory recipes incorporate raw lemon zest, juice, or slices, Gray takes an easy but clever approach here: She halves a lemon, then cooks it cut side down in the skillet until it’s nicely browned, which gives the dish a bright, caramelized note.
Dredge your chicken in flour. Coating the chicken breasts in an even layer of flour helps absorb any excess moisture and gives the poultry a dry exterior that browns evenly, and is a trick our editorial director Daniel uses in his fish piccata recipe.
Sear, bake, and rest your chicken. To keep the chicken nice and juicy while also crisping up the skin, sear it skin side-down in a skillet. Bake it until it just reaches 160ºF (71ºC) on an instant-read thermometer, then let it rest. As the chicken rests, its temperature will continue to rise to 165ºF. This resting also allows the chicken’s juices to evenly distribute itself throughout the meat, resulting in moist, tender chicken.
For the creamiest sauce, reduce your wine and add your butter gradually. After you remove the chicken, you’ll deglaze the pan with white wine, then reduce it by half. This cooks off the alcohol, preventing the wine from imparting the harsh flavor of raw wine to the sauce, and also concentrates the wine’s sugars, which gives the sauce body. Once the wine has reduced, it’s key to incorporate the butter slowly while whisking constantly to ensure that the sauce emulsifies properly. As former Serious Eats editor Sohla has written previously, the “combination of stirring, swirling the pan, and vigorous bubbling will emulsify the butter into the sauce, breaking it up into tiny droplets that are then distributed throughout the liquid.”
As fancy as that all sounds, this is a meal that comes together in less than an hour—but tastes like you’ve been cooking all day long. Simply add some rice, couscous, or potatoes and a simple vegetable side like steamed or roasted broccoli and you're all set with a chaos-free evening—at least in the dinner department.
Adjust oven rack to middle position, and preheat to 400°F (205ºC). Using a microplane grater, zest lemon to yield 2 teaspoons zest; set aside. Halve lemon crosswise; set aside separately from zest.
In a wide, shallow bowl, spread flour in an even layer. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Transfer to a plate, and repeat with remaining chicken breasts; set aside.
In a 12-inch enameled cast iron or stainless steel skillet, heat oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Add reserved lemon halves, cut sides down, and cook, undisturbed, until edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove lemon halves from skillet; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high; add chicken to skillet, skin sides down, and cook, rotating pan as needed, until skin is golden brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip chicken breasts, skin sides up, and return lemon halves to skillet, cut sides down. Remove from heat.
Place skillet in oven and bake until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°F (71ºC) on an instant-read thermometer, 15 to 18 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes; temperature will continue to rise to 165°F (74ºC). Transfer chicken breasts to a platter; loosely tent with foil to keep warm, and let rest while making sauce. Juice caramelized lemon halves to yield 2 tablespoons juice; set juice aside. Do not wipe skillet clean.
For the Sauce: While chicken is resting, return skillet to medium-high. Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper to drippings in skillet; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Add butter; cook, whisking constantly, until butter is melted, about 1 minute. Lower heat to medium; cook, whisking constantly, until a creamy, emulsified sauce is formed, about 1 minute. (When ready, it should coat the back of a spoon and a finger dragged through it should leave a trail.) Whisk in reserved lemon juice and thyme. Drizzle sauce over chicken, and garnish with additional freshly ground black pepper, thyme, and reserved lemon zest.
Special Equipment
Microplane grater, 12-inch enameled cast iron or stainless steel skillet, instant-read thermometer, whisk
Make-Ahead and Storage
The chicken and sauce is best served the day of, but leftovers can be safely stored for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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