Chicken Francaise

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     One of the girls at work sent me an idea for chicken that I found interesting. I'd never heard of Chicken Francaise. The ingredients were simple and the steps were to coat, dip and fry like many other chicken dishes. However, I was intrigued at the method and decided to give it a try.
    This dish is made totally backwards from how I'm used to doing chicken. First of all the flour is plain. Everything went into the eggs instead, and not just salt and pepper. I added  parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese, too. Never in my life have I added cheese to any egg wash.
    Once the chicken is cooked, it's removed to a plate so you can make a sauce in the same skillet. It's then returned to the sauce to warm before serving. I can't say that I've ever tried that with breaded and fried meat. It seemed like the crust would get soggy, but it didn't. It was a thin sauce with bright flavors (lemon) that seemed to soak right into the chicken.
     The methods were a little foreign to me, but the combination came out just fine. It seemed to be a good thing to try new methods and techniques because you never know when might learn something new.

Chicken Francaise
4 small chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour

3 medium eggs
2 T. dried parsley, divided (fresh would be nice)
1 cup Sherry (or white wine)
1 cup chicken stock
3 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese (1/2 of 6 oz. bag)
1 tsp. roasted minced garlic (in a jar)
4 T. olive oil
4 T. butter, divided
2 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper

Place each chicken breast in plastic wrap and smack with a meat malot, sauce pan (cast iron) or heavy rolling pin until thin.

Put flour on a plate. Set aside.

Crack eggs into a shallow bowl or container. Add salt, pepper and 1 T. parsley. Mix well. Add shredded cheese and mix again. Set aside.

Heat large skillet over medium (almost medium-high) heat. When hot, add olive oil and 2 T. butter. Swish mixture in pan so as not to burn.

With one hand coat chicken in flour. Place in egg mixture. With other hand coat chicken so that it's well covered. Put in hot oil and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until golden or very light brown. Remove cooked chicken to warm plate. Continue with other pieces as space allows. Do not crowd the skillet.

 Remove skillet from heat and add sherry (to avoid a fire hazard). Return to medium high burner and add garlic, lemon juice, chicken stock and remainder of parsley and butter. Reduce over full heat for 2 minutes. Add chicken back into sauce and continue heating over medium heat.

Plate chicken while sauce is continuing to reduce and just before serving, spoon a few tablespoons of sauce over top.

Makes 4 average servings.