Crispy Skin Chicken Piccata with Giant Croutons

This is IT. The tastiest chicken piccata I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a few). The skin stays nice and crispy thanks to the sear + broil method, and the sauce is just other-wordly good. The giant croutons add flavor to flavor which, in my book, is always a great thing.

Author: Lauren McDuffie
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

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
2/3 cup white wine (nothing sweet)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 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

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Instructions

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, skin side down, for about 6 minutes. Flip and sear for a few more minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate/tray for now.
Reduce the heat to medium and with the rendered chicken fat still in the pan, add a drizzle of oil, if needed, as well as the shallots. Cook for a minute and then add the sliced garlic, capers, and stock concentrate. Cook for another minute or so, and add the wine. Cook 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. 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 (stir it around and add a drizzle of extra olive oil to prevent this).
Serve the croutons with the chicken and sauce, for dunking, dredging and dipping. Finish by zesting the entire lemon over everything, and serve with sliced lemon wedges on the side. Garnish everything with chopped parsley, if you like.

Find it online: https://mykitchenlittle.com/2022/07/27/crispy-skin-chicken-piccata-with-giant-croutons/