Chicken Milanese with Sage and Lemon-Butter Sauce

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This crispy pan-fried chicken gets an elegant lift from the buttery sauce served alongside.

Chicken Milanese with Sage-and-Lemon-Butter Sauce
Photo: © Fredrika Stjärne
Total Time:
45 mins
Yield:
8

These pounded, breaded and fried chicken cutlets, with their crisp golden crust, were Linda Meyers's favorite dinner when she was a child. "If guests were coming over, my mom would add a butter sauce," she recalls. Here, she creates her own butter sauce with white wine and cream, and gives it an extra punch of flavor with fresh sage and lemon in the sauce. She serves the dish alongside a simple salad with a vinaigrette. It's an elegant meal, and one that comes together in just minutes, making this ideal for weeknight dinners and special occasions.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

  • 2 medium shallots, minced

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1 cup dry white wine

  • 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Chicken

  • 1 cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs

  • 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

  • 2 large eggs

  • Eight 6-ounce chicken breast cutlets, pounded 1/4 inch thick

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Vegetable oil, for frying

  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Prepare the Sauce

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, 4 minutes. Add the cream, wine and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the sage, lemon juice and cayenne. Season with salt and white pepper and cover.

Meanwhile, Prepare the Chicken

  1. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, panko, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and thyme. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Season the eggs and chicken cutlets with salt and black pepper. Dip each cutlet in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. Transfer the breaded cutlets to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In each of 2 large skillets, heat 1/4 inch of oil until shimmering. Working in batches, add the breaded cutlets and cook over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Lower the heat to moderate and fry, turning once, until the cutlets are browned and crisp, 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then keep warm in the oven on another baking sheet while you fry the rest.

  3. Rewarm the sauce over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Arrange the cutlets on plates, sprinkle with the parsley and serve with the sauce.

Suggested Pairing

Light-bodied, red fruit–inflected Beaujolais.

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