Chicken Piccata

Method

1. prep8 min
   cutlets 1/4 inch, dried, seasoned
   chicken halved horizontally, pounded even, dried and seasoned — piccata is a fast dish and thin uniform cutlets are what make fast possible; the flour goes on just before the pan
2. sear7 min
   medium-high, single layer
   dredged cutlets in oil + 1 tbsp butter, about 3 minutes a side to gold, then out — the flour's browned residue is the sauce's future thickener, so a scorched pan here means starting the sauce over
3. deglaze4 min
   medium-high, reduced by half
   + wine, scraping the fond loose — reduce it properly; the sauce is only four liquids deep and un-reduced wine leaves it thin and boozy
4. simmer4 min
   medium, with the lemon slices
   + stock + lemon juice + capers + the lemon slices — the slices do something the juice cannot: their pith's gentle bitterness and the caramelizing cut faces give the sauce its grown-up edge
5. simmer2 min
   cutlets back in
   chicken returned with its juices just to warm through — it finishes in the sauce so the dredge crust drinks lemon instead of staying a dry jacket
6. top1 min
   off heat
   remaining butter swirled in off the flame until the sauce turns glossy and clings — the emulsion is the finish line; parsley over the top and straight to the table, because the sauce tightens as it sits