Evenly battered pan-fried hen 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 bought a terrific crust that soaks up the sauce! Pretty 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 inventive with. Stuff it, sear it, crumb it, bake it, fry it, marinate it, poach it – see the numerous, some ways I prepare dinner it in my hen breast recipe assortment!
Right this moment, we’re battering and saucing. The battering is a bit distinctive. Hen Francese is dredged in egg then pan fried which provides the hen a beautiful 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 decreased to prepare 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 suppose most recipes use manner 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!
Elements in Hen Francese
Right here’s what it’s essential make Hen Francese:
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Hen breast is the reduce generally used for Hen Francese. We solely want 2 as a result of we reduce them in half horizontally to type 4 skinny steaks in complete. Get large ones, so one piece makes a enough serving for a meal. You might additionally get hen breast that’s already reduce / pounded skinny, normally bought labelled as “hen 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 either side so the egg batter cooks evenly.
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Eggs and milk whisked collectively make up the batter than the hen is dipped in earlier than frying.
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Flour is used to thicken then sauce and for coating the hen earlier than dipping within the egg. It makes the egg cling higher to the hen and in addition makes the crust a bit bit crispy.
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Wine – Chardonnay is the very best all-rounder cooking wine, for my part, for flavour. It’s the solely white wine I inventory for cooking as of late. No want to make use of an costly one! Fairly effectively documented by cooking authorities that there’s no want to make use of costly wine for cooking. Purchase discounted bottles – I take advantage of ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5.
Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, omit the wine and add 2 – 3 tablespoons lemon juice to make a beautiful 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 hen. We discard the excess olive oil (which will get black bits in it) earlier than including the butter.
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Lemon – Lower 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 beneath.
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Parsley for elective garnish.
Find out how to make Hen Francese
A pleasant, leisurely 15 minute prepare dinner. We first pan-fry the battered hen cutlets then make the sauce in the identical pan. The hen is returned into the sauce on the finish so the crust will get soaked within the sauce, in addition to re-warming the hen.
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Lower every breast in half horizontally to type 4 skinny steaks in complete.
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Flour coating – Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate (I take advantage of my fingertips). Coat the hen within the flour flour first, shaking off extra, then put aside on a plate whilst you warmth the oil within the pan, able to prepare dinner.
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Egg dredge – As soon as the oil is scorching, dip the hen within the egg, coating either side, then maintain it up few a few seconds to let the surplus drip off.
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Prepare dinner hen – Put the hen straight into the pan. Then proceed to coat the remaining hen items.
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Prepare dinner the hen for 3 minutes till golden. Flip, decrease warmth to medium, then prepare dinner for 4 minutes till the hen is golden (goal inner temperature 68°C/155°F). Then take away onto a plate. The hen will relaxation whereas we’re making the sauce. It’s okay if it cools down, it should heat up once we put it again within the sauce.
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Pan fry lemon slices – Subsequent, prepare dinner the lemon slices for about 1 1/2 minutes till flippantly browned or they develop into delicate (normally the latter for me). On this step, the lemon slices are absorbing the tasty bits left within the pan from cooking the hen (it’s known as fond). This flavour is then launched into the sauce once we pop the lemon slices in on the finish.
This can be a step that’s distinctive to Hen Francese! Nice method. 🙂
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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 hen. No want to clean with detergent, simply eliminate a lot of the black bits.
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Roux – Subsequent, we transfer onto the sauce. Soften the butter over medium warmth then prepare dinner the flour for 1 minute to prepare dinner out the uncooked flour flavour. This pasty combination within the pan is named a roux and that is what thickens the sauce.
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Make the sauce – Whereas stirring, slowly pour in half the inventory. Maintain stirring till the roux is combined into the inventory. Then you’ll be able to 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 once in a while, till it thickens right into a syrupy consistency.
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Sauce thickness – That is what you’re aiming for. Concerning the thickness of maple syrup. It should thicken extra when the hen 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 suitable thickness, it’s time to convey all of it collectively! With the pan nonetheless on the range, pop the hen items again in together with the lemon slices and let it simmer for about 30 seconds to heat by and convey the flavour collectively.
Then spoon sauce everywhere in the hen, 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 laborious to make much less in giant pans. You’ll find yourself with over a cup within the pan along with the sauce clinging to the hen. That’s a very good quantity to serve this over mashed potato (or fake mash), rice, or different related starchy autos (risoni/orzo, couscous).
Alternatively, when you select bread for mopping (as pictured), then you definately may not 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 worry 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 how you can make it
UPDATE in response to reader questions – YES I take advantage of 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 prepare dinner the omelette by totally, and since it’s so skinny, you’ll be able to, it’s high quality to eat even after dipping uncooked hen 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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Lower every breast in half horizontally to type 4 skinny steaks in complete.
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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 take advantage of my fingertips). Coat the hen 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 hen – Dip the hen 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 prepare dinner for 4 minutes till the hen 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 delicate / brown, then flip and prepare dinner the opposite facet for 30 seconds. Take away onto a plate. (Notice 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, salt and pepper. (See Notice 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 hen and lemon slices to the pan, the spoon the sauce everywhere in the hen. Sprinkle with parsley then serve the hen with the sauce (use it ALL!).
Recipe Notes:
1. Wine – Chardonnay is the very best cooking wine, for my part. Fairly effectively documented as of late that there’s no want to make use of costly ingesting wine, purchase discounted bottles for cooking (I take advantage of ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5).
Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, omit the wine and add 2 – 3 tbsp lemon juice to make a beautiful lemon sauce as an alternative.
2. Pan frying the lemon slices makes them take in the tasty flavour left within the pan by the hen (it’s known as fond!) which is then launched into the sauce on the finish once we put the lemon slices in. So don’t skip this step!
3. Lumps in sauce – The tactic 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 scorching pan till flippantly 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 preserve for 3 days within the fridge although the crust does loosen.
6. Vitamin per serving assuming all of the sauce is consumed.
Vitamin 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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