Crispy Skin Chicken Piccata with Giant Croutons

Meet my favorite Crispy Skin Chicken Piccata! I cannot overstate how good this one is ya’ll, truly. I have been making and eating piccata’s of all sorts for many years (it’s a thing in my family) and this is the very best. The juicy chicken skin stays crispy and salty, the sauce is lick-the-plate-clean-good, and those giant croutons? Forget about it. Read on for a few tips and FAQ’s or just jump ahead to the recipe.

What is Chicken Piccata?

A classic piccata (Italian) consists of the protein of the moment (chicken, fish, shrimp even) and an absolutely drinkable sauce. Piccata sauce is made from simple alliums like sautéed shallots or onion, garlic, stock, white wine, capers and lemon. It is often “mounted” with butter at the very end. This just glosses the whole thing out and makes it better than you’d ever imagine such a simple collective of ingredients could be.

• Protein
• Olive oil
• Alliums/aromatics (shallots, onion, garlic)
• Capers
• Wine
• Stock
• Lemon

How do you keep the skin crispy?

So, one of the very best things about this recipe is the fact that the chicken comes skin-on and bone-in. This is a bit less traditional for a piccata, as you’ll typically see it with boneless, skinless cutlets or breasts that have been pounded or butterflied. I LOVE how this version turned out, though, and the crispy skin absolutely contributes to the great success.

It’s nearly impossible to achieve crispy skin chicken when you’re roasting a whole bird (it will eventually get soft on you. Fooey). But when you work with just the thighs – you have this golden opportunity to achieve both juicy insides and crispy, salty outsides all at once. Heaven!

Here, we’ll start by giving the thighs a good, hard sear in some olive oil until they’re very golden. They will continue to get crispy and golden when we put the whole kit n’ caboodle (chicken caboodle?) under the broiler for about 6 to 8 minutes. This seals the deal and helps crisp up that skin to utter perfection.

What’s the deal with the sauce?

I’m so glad you asked!

The sauce here is pretty straightforward, save for the addition of two things: stock concentrate (it’s my go-to secret ingredient in many, many things), and also a little bit of half and half. You don’t always or even usually see the addition of cream or half and half in a piccata sauce, but it’s great here. We’ll also dot the top with bits of butter (just like grandmas used to do).

The rendered chicken fat from our initial searing is what kickstarts the sauce. We’ll saute the shallots in that fat, along with a little more oil if needed. Then, in go the capers and garlic, followed by a little stock concentrate. This one is wildly delicious, though a bit pricey. Knorr and Better Than Bouillon also make good ones. In goes a splash of white wine (yes, you CAN use cooking wine – don’t even sweat it). Next? We’ll add a cup of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of half and half (or cream). BOOM. Greatness, accomplished.

What You’ll Need

This recipe strays from tradition a little bit, as we’ll use bone-in, skin-on thighs here (the best!) and also some stock concentrate and a little splash of cream to make the sauce the ULTIMATE in all things piccata. Also, the capers sort of make this, so don’t leave em’ out! They’re absolutely delicious.

INGREDIENTS

4 to 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Salt and pepper, as needed

Olive oil, as directed/needed

2 shallots, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, 2 thinly sliced and 2 minced/grated 

One, 3.5-ounce jar capers, drained 

Scant teaspoon chicken stock concentrate

⅔ cup white wine (nothing sweet)

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup half and half or heavy cream

3 tablespoons butter, divided

One lemon

1 loaf of Italian bread, thickly sliced

SERVING SUGGESTION: finely chopped parsley

How to make this Crispy Skin Chicken with Croutons

Sear the chicken and render the fat. Cook the aromatics in that. In go the flavor bombs (wine, capers, garlic, stock concentrate), then the liquids. That’d be the cream and stock.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the broiler and adjust the rack to the middle position.

Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper (we’re going for potato chip-like skin here). Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Sear/brown the chicken for about 6 minutes on the first side and then turn them, and sear for a few more minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate/tray for now.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots. Cook for a minute and then add the sliced garlic, capers, and stock concentrate. Saute for another minute or so, and add the wine. Simmer for a minute (this cooks off the alcohol), and then add the stock, followed by the half and half or cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, just to reduce it slightly. 

Nestle the chicken back into the pan (keeping the skin out of the sauce) and dot the tops of everything with a tablespoon of the butter (just pinch off little bits of it and scatter them all around). Place under the broiler and broil until the chicken is cooked through and nice and golden/crispy; takes about 6 to 8 minutes since it’s on the middle rack). The sauce will reduce in the oven, and if it looks like it’s reducing too much, just add a little water as needed. 

Meanwhile, add the remaining butter and a tablespoon of olive oil to another large skillet set over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and the sliced bread. Season with salt and let the bread get nice and toasty on both sides, just watching to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn. 

Serve the croutons with the chicken and sauce, for dunking, dredging and dipping. Garnish everything with chopped parsley, if you like.

If you like the looks of this Crispy Skin Chicken Piccata with Giant Croutons, then you might also want to try:

Sage Brown Butter Chicken Piccata

Chicken Paillard

Spatchcock Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon, and Dates

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi in a Spicy Roasted Pepper Sauce

Sesame Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Fried Chicken Noodle Soup

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