Evenly battered pan-fried rooster breast with a chic white wine lemon sauce. It’s like Hen Piccata, however a thicker sauce, extra of it, no capers, with delicate lemon flavour. It’s received a terrific crust that soaks up the sauce! Beautiful restaurant dish that’s easy to make at residence.
Hen Francese
Hen breast, being a lean, impartial flavoured protein, is a terrific clean canvas to get artistic with. Stuff it, sear it, crumb it, bake it, fry it, marinate it, poach it – see the various, some ways I cook dinner it in my rooster breast recipe assortment!
At present, we’re battering and saucing. The battering is a little bit distinctive. Hen Francese is dredged in egg then pan fried which provides the rooster a stunning golden crust with wonderful sauce clinging capabilities.
Talking of the sauce! It’s a chic white wine sauce that’s savoury with a delicate brightness from lemon. It doesn’t style winey as a result of it’s diminished to cook dinner out the alcohol. And it’s not meant to be actually lemony, it simply has a delicate flavour from the juices of lemon slices put into the sauce. I personally assume most recipes use approach an excessive amount of lemon which makes it lip-puckeringly bitter.
Additionally, not all recipes thicken the sauce, it’s thinner. I’m firmly within the thickened sauce camp. Like so:
So, if all that sounds good to you, learn on!
Substances in Hen Francese
Right here’s what you could make Hen Francese:
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Hen breast is the minimize generally used for Hen Francese. We solely want 2 as a result of we minimize them in half horizontally to kind 4 skinny steaks in whole. Get massive ones, so one piece makes a ample serving for a meal. You possibly can additionally get rooster breast that’s already minimize / pounded skinny, often offered labelled as “rooster schnitzel” right here in Australia (it comes un-crumbed).
Boneless thighs may also work. Pound to even thickness to get a pleasant flat floor on each side so the egg batter cooks evenly.
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Eggs and milk whisked collectively make up the batter than the rooster is dipped in earlier than frying.
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Flour is used to thicken then sauce and for coating the rooster earlier than dipping within the egg. It makes the egg cling higher to the rooster and likewise makes the crust a little bit bit crispy.
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Wine – Chardonnay is the very best all-rounder cooking wine, in my view, for flavour. It’s the solely white wine I inventory for cooking nowadays. No want to make use of an costly one! Fairly nicely documented by cooking authorities that there’s no want to make use of costly wine for cooking. Purchase discounted bottles – I exploit ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5.
Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, pass over the wine and add 2 – 3 tablespoons lemon juice to make a stunning lemon sauce as an alternative.
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Hen inventory/broth is the opposite liquid that makes up the sauce.
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Butter for the sauce and olive oil for cooking the rooster. We discard the excess olive oil (which will get black bits in it) earlier than including the butter.
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Lemon – Minimize into slices then pan fried earlier than including again into the sauce. A really particular Hen Francese step! Extra on this within the How To Make part under.
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Parsley for non-obligatory garnish.
Find out how to make Hen Francese
A pleasant, leisurely 15 minute cook dinner. We first pan-fry the battered rooster cutlets then make the sauce in the identical pan. The rooster is returned into the sauce on the finish so the crust will get soaked within the sauce, in addition to re-warming the rooster.
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Minimize every breast in half horizontally to kind 4 skinny steaks in whole.
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Flour coating – Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate (I exploit my fingertips). Coat the rooster within the flour first, shaking off extra, then put aside on a plate whilst you warmth the oil within the pan, able to cook dinner.
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Egg dredge – As soon as the oil is sizzling, dip the rooster within the egg, coating each side, then maintain it up for a few seconds to let the surplus drip off.
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Prepare dinner rooster – Put the rooster straight into the pan. Then proceed to coat the remaining rooster items.
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Prepare dinner the rooster for 3 minutes till golden. Flip, decrease warmth to medium, then cook dinner for 4 minutes till the rooster is golden (goal inner temperature 68°C/155°F). Then take away onto a plate. The rooster will relaxation whereas we’re making the sauce. It’s okay if it cools down, it’s going to heat up after we put it again within the sauce.
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Pan fry lemon slices – Subsequent, cook dinner the lemon slices for about 1 1/2 minutes till frivolously browned or they change into mushy (often the latter for me). On this step, the lemon slices are absorbing the tasty bits left within the pan from cooking the rooster (it’s referred to as fond). This flavour is then launched into the sauce after we pop the lemon slices in on the finish.
This can be a step that’s distinctive to Hen Francese! Nice approach. 🙂
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Clear the pan by giving it a fast wipe down with paper towels. You’ll see there are many black bits from cooking the rooster. No want to clean with detergent, simply do away with many of the black bits.
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Roux – Subsequent, we transfer onto the sauce. Soften the butter over medium warmth then cook dinner the flour for 1 minute to cook dinner out the uncooked flour flavour. This pasty combination within the pan known as a roux and that is what thickens the sauce.
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Make the sauce – Whereas stirring, slowly pour in half the inventory. Preserve stirring till the roux is combined into the inventory. Then you may pour the remaining inventory in together with the wine, salt and pepper. Then combine to mix.
Lump free! The strategy of stirring whilst you slowly pour in some inventory ought to forestall lumps forming in your sauce. But when you find yourself with pesky lumps, swish a whisk throughout the floor of the liquid to take away them, taking care to not scratch the non-stick floor of the pan. Worst case – pressure it. 🙂
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Simmer to thicken – Simmer the sauce for round 4 minutes, stirring every so often, till it thickens right into a syrupy consistency.
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Sauce thickness – That is what you’re aiming for. In regards to the thickness of maple syrup. It should thicken extra when the rooster is returned into the pan, from flour bits within the crust mixing into the sauce.
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Ending – As soon as the sauce is the correct thickness, it’s time to carry all of it collectively! With the pan nonetheless on the range, pop the rooster items again in together with the lemon slices and let it simmer for about 30 seconds to heat by way of and produce the flavour collectively.
Then spoon sauce all around the rooster, then it’s dinnertime!
Find out how to serve Hen Francese
This recipe makes a beneficiant quantity of sauce as a result of it’s exhausting to make much less in massive pans. You’ll find yourself with over a cup within the pan along with the sauce clinging to the rooster. That’s a very good quantity to serve this over mashed potato (or fake mash), rice, or different related starchy autos (risoni/orzo, couscous).
However, if you happen to select bread for mopping (as pictured), then you definately won’t use all of the sauce. However, having an excessive amount of sauce is a way more fascinating place to be in than not sufficient sauce (*her coronary heart thuds in concern on the thought*) and this valuable liquid gold goes to make your morning scrambled eggs or a plain omelette SO MUCH MORE EXCITING. Who wouldn’t need white wine lemon sauce on their breakfast eggs???! – Nagi x
Watch easy methods to make it
UPDATE in response to reader questions – YES I exploit the leftover egg to make an omelette! There’s lower than the equal of 1 egg left so it makes a skinny omelette crepe. So long as you cook dinner the omelette by way of completely, and since it’s so skinny, you may, it’s advantageous to eat even after dipping uncooked rooster into it!
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Hen Francese
Prep: 10 minutes
Prepare dinner: 15 minutes
Whole: 25 minutes
Mains
Western
Servings4
Faucet or hover to scale
Directions
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Minimize every breast in half horizontally to kind 4 skinny steaks in whole.
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Whisk eggs and milk in a small bowl. Put aside.
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Flour coating – Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate (I exploit my fingertips). Coat the rooster within the flour, shaking off extra, then put aside on a plate.
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Warmth the oil in a big nonstick pan over medium-high warmth.
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Prepare dinner rooster – Dip the rooster within the egg, enable extra to drip off, then put into the pan. Prepare dinner for 3 minutes till golden. Flip, decrease warmth to medium, then cook dinner for 4 minutes till the rooster is golden (inner temp 68°C/155°F). Take away onto a plate.
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Lemon – Add the lemon slices to the pan. Prepare dinner for a minute or till the lemons go mushy / brown, then flip and cook dinner the opposite facet for 30 seconds. Take away onto a plate. (Be aware 2)
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Wipe the pan clear utilizing paper towels.
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White wine sauce – Nonetheless on medium warmth, soften the butter within the pan. Add flour and stir for 1 minute utilizing a wood spoon. Whereas stirring, slowly pour in half the inventory. As soon as the flour is dissolved into the liquid, stir in remaining inventory, then the wine and salt. (See Be aware 3 for lumps tip)
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Thicken sauce – Flip the warmth up barely then simmer for 3 – 4 minutes or till the sauce thickens right into a syrupy consistency.
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Sauce it! Return the rooster and lemon slices to the pan, then spoon the sauce all around the rooster. Sprinkle with parsley then serve the rooster with the sauce (use it ALL!).
Recipe Notes:
1. Wine – Chardonnay is the very best cooking wine, in my view. Fairly nicely documented nowadays that there’s no want to make use of costly ingesting wine, purchase discounted bottles for cooking (I exploit ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5).
Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, pass over the wine and add 2 – 3 tbsp lemon juice to make a stunning lemon sauce as an alternative.
2. Pan frying the lemon slices makes them absorb the tasty flavour left within the pan by the rooster (it’s referred to as fond!) which is then launched into the sauce on the finish after we put the lemon slices in. So don’t skip this step!
3. Lumps in sauce – The strategy of stirring whilst you slowly pour in some inventory ought to keep away from lumps. But when you find yourself with pesky lumps in your sauce, swish a whisk throughout the floor of the liquid to take away them, taking care to not scratch the non-stick floor of the pan. Worst case – pressure it. 🙂
4. Serving – Pictured with pan seared asparagus (drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pan sear in sizzling pan till frivolously charred. Do that whereas the sauce is simmering). For sauce mopping, I used bread however mash (or fake mash), rice and related are wonderful sauce-soaking choices.
5. Leftovers will maintain for 3 days within the fridge although the crust does loosen.
6. Diet per serving assuming all of the sauce is consumed.
Diet Info:
Energy: 368cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 11g (4%)Protein: 32g (64%)Fats: 21g (32%)Saturated Fats: 9g (56%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 8gTrans Fats: 0.4gLdl cholesterol: 148mg (49%)Sodium: 783mg (34%)Potassium: 656mg (19%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 507IU (10%)Vitamin C: 17mg (21%)Calcium: 38mg (4%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
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