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Pan-fried chicken fillet in a frying pan is being poured with lemon butter sauce.
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5 from 1 vote

Lemon Butter Chicken

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Aleksandra

Ingredients

for the chicken:

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons clarified butter or 1 tablespoon regular butter and 1 tablespoon frying oil

for the lemon butter sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1 1/4 cups broth
  • 3/4 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 3/4 tablespoon flour
  • chopped parsley to sprinkle

Instructions

cook the chicken:

  • Place the chicken breasts on a chopping board and cut them horizontally in half (with your knife parallel to the chopping board). You should have 4 fillets. Pound them slightly in their thickest part until they are almost of even thickness (but don't pound them too thin, like for breaded chicken cutlets).
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, then dredge in flour until evenly coated on all sides, shake off excess flour.
  • Heat clarified butter in a big frying pan over high heat. When hot add the chicken. Cook until golden then turn over and cook on the other side until cooked through. You can cut through the thickest part of the fillets to see if the meat is white and the juices run clear.
  • Transfer the chicken to a plate.

make the sauce:

  • Add 1 tablespoon of butter and garlic (pressed through a garlic press or finely minced). Stir until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
  • Whisk cold broth with flour until no lumps are visible. Add the broth with flour and lemon juice to the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat until the sauce reduces its volume (about 1/3-1/2) and is thickened, whisking from time to time. Make sure to scrape all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan - they provide great flavor.
  • Season the sauce with ground black pepper and salt if necessary (it wasn't necessary in my case because my broth was already salty).
  • Add the chicken pieces back to the pan to warm up, take the pan off the heat and sprinkle the chicken with chopped parsley.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you have small chicken breasts, you don't have to cut them in half, just pound them with a meat mallet into even thickness.
  • This dish serves 4 moderately or 2 generously.
  • What to serve it with: I like it most with just boiled potatoes and green beans but other great options are: steamed or roasted broccoli/cauliflower, sauteed zucchini or asparagus, orzo pasta, mashed potatoes, cauliflower rice, coconut rice, roasted potatoes, mashed cauliflower.
  • Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal