The Bear is consistently the most true to life representation of the service industry on TV. They nail the fast paced nature of it so well, even if things are slightly dramatized. To me, it’s obvious that the team behind the show knew what they were doing. To support this, the food they show off is not only amazing looking, it’s also pretty well thought out and involves a lot of onscreen talent knowing how to cook. How does it taste though? Here's how to make the lemon chicken piccata from the show. We see Sugar making this for dinner which inspires Carmen to put it on the menu at The Beef. I absolutely adore piccata, and this version is special because it utilizes a cutlet as the base.
Lemon chicken piccata
1 large chicken breast
1 beaten egg
AP flour to coat
100g bread crumb
1 minced shallot
2 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
20ml white wine
Capers
200ml chicken stock
Cold butter
Lemon juice
Lemon zest
Chopped parsley
Step 1: Bread Chicken Cutlet
Butterfly a chicken breast and pound it thin and even. Cover it in plastic wrap and use a heavy pot or mallet to make this easier. Season both sides with salt and pepper and let this sit while you make the breading station. For a piece like this, you just need an egg beaten with a little water to thin it out and a bowl full of breadcrumbs. Coat the chicken in flour in a thin layer of flour (tap off any excess) and then cover it in the egg wash. Toss it in the breadcrumb and press them in so they stick to the egg wash. That’s pretty much the standard procedure for any cutlet cookery.
Step 2: Cook Cutlet
In a skillet over medium high, fry this in a shallow layer of olive oil until browned on the first side, roughly 3 minutes or so depending on the heat. As long as you got the chicken thin enough, the inside will be cooked by the time it’s brown. Flip this and cook another 2-3 minutes. Let this rest on a wire rack while we make the lemony pan sauce. For now, season this with salt, lemon zest and chopped parsley.
Step 3: Make Pan Sauce
In the show, we get a nice scene of Carmy teaching the staff how to make the sauce, which is perfect for us. For the pan sauce, melt a tablespoon of butter then add in the shallot and garlic. Once these have a little bit of color, add a splash of white wine and then a bunch of capers (depends on how much you like capers). Cook the wine out completely and then add in 200mls of chicken stock and then reduce this until most of the liquid is gone. Once the chicken stock has reduced, turn off the heat and add in 2 tablespoons of cold butter. Season this with chopped parsley, cracked pepper, and lemon juice.
Lovingly spoon on the sauce and enjoy a dang near perfect piccata. The sauce is pretty pungent from the garlic and shallot, but it works so well with the crispy cutlet. This is piccata perfection.
Cheers!
