Chicken Francese is usually sautéed with a buttery lemon sauce. My baked chicken Francese has a great lemon sauce, but it’s breaded then baked, not fried!
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Let’s not beat around the bush; breaded and fried chicken is pretty great. Agreed?
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss how messy frying is. If you are anything like me, you probably avoid frying at all costs because it uses so much oil and you end up with splatters everywhere. Lucky for me, I started bake-frying everything years ago and I haven’t looked back.
I mean, that’s not to say that I never fry anything. I’m not going to lie to you guys. Most days, though, I just don’t have it in me so I go for the egg and panko dip and give it a good spritz of oil and bake it till it’s crispy. What’s “it”? Well, it could be chicken, zucchini, eggplant…just about anything that you can fry.
Chicken Francese is one of Philip’s favorite dishes to order at an Italian restaurant. Traditional chicken Francese is dipped in an egg batter, sautéed, and served with a lemon-butter sauce…usually with some pasta side. To be 100% honest with you, though, I like the rice with my baked chicken Francese better…it’s a little less cumbersome on the plate.
Is that a weird thing to say?
Anyway, baked chicken Francese is as simple as:
- Cut some chicken breasts in half
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness
- Dip the chicken in egg then in panko crumbs
- Spray the chicken with a little olive oil
- Bake the chicken in the oven until it’s crispy
- Make a sauce of butter, chicken broth, a little flour, and some lemon
- Serve it with your favorite sides
That’s it. You can pull this off on a weeknight no problem. What are you waiting for?
Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate and The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!
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Mary
Yield: 2-4 servings
10 minPrep Time:
25 minCook Time:
35 minTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 1lb chicken breast-for me this was 2 breasts
- 1 Large egg (beaten)
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Large shallot (minced)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I use Chardonnay)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a stoneware pan, preheat that too (if you don't have stoneware, preheat a baking sheet).
- Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise, then cut the thicker into two thinner cutlets. Place the chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet until the pieces of chicken are even thickness.
- Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dip both sides of each piece of chicken in egg then into the panko until completely coated. Place on the preheated pan and spray with olive oil spray. Place in oven for ten minutes, then turn and bake for ten minutes more.
- As soon as you place the chicken in the oven, melt one tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Sauté the shallot for about two minutes, then whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute. Add the chicken stock, wine, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and return the liquid to the pan.
- To finish, turn the heat under the sauce on medium-low. Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter one tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
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