Vodka Lemon Chicken

I'm posting this recipe in honor of National Vodka Day. If you don't drink Vodka today, you can at least cook with it! Half in the Bag Chicken Wings is also a great dish using vodka.

When I gathered all the ingredients for this dish I didn't really pay much attention to the directions. It wasn't until I actually started making this dish that I found something that made me go "huh"?  That was the direction to dredge the chicken in flour, THEN in the egg wash, then saute in the pan. Isn't it supposed to be egg wash, THEN flour?

So I went online and checked every Lemon Vodka Chicken recipe listed. They all referenced the exact same recipe (most a direct copy from The Vodka Cookbook where this recipe came from). If everyone says to do the flour, then dip in egg so be it.

The end result of this dish is that it tasted pretty dang good. Not enough sauce though...the sauce had a lot of flavor and I definitely wanted more of it. I used really fat organic chicken pieces so if I had used the standard skinny chicken breasts at most stores there might have been more sauce left.

As far as dipping in the dry ingredients before the wet? The minute I put the egg washed chickens into the frying pan the coating just kind of slid off. Nothing tasted like scrambled egg in the final dish, and there was still a lot of flavor, but the end result looked NOTHING like the finished dish in the book. I may try doing egg wash then flour next time I try this recipe.

VODKA LEMON CHICKEN

1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup flour
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
4 tablespoons vodka
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
4 tablespoons capers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Quickly char the lemon slices on both sides in a medium saute pan over a high heat and set aside. Return the pan to a moderate heat and add the oil.

Whisk the eggs and milk in a small shallow bowl. Tip the flour into another shallow bowl. Dredge a chicken breast in the flour, and then in the egg mixture. Place immediately in the pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and saute the chicken until golden and cooked through - approximately 5-7 minutes on each side (depending on their size). Set aside in a covered dish.

Deglaze the pan with the vodka and loosen the flavor bits at the bottom of the pan by scraping with a wooden spoon. Then add the butter, lemon juice, parsley, basil, capers, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the mixture reduces by about a quarter. Return the chicken and grilled lemon slices to the pan and toss.

Serve the chicken breasts topped with the sauce. Boiled linguine mixed with a little of the lemon sauce makes a fine side dish. Serves 2-4

Note: I used Svedka Vodka

Note: I didn't serve this over rice or pasta since I didn't have enough sauce left over, but either would work.

I still think it was weird to do the flour mixture then the egg wash but maybe I'm wrong? Maybe that's quite common? In any event, the dish tasted good enough for me to try again using either method. The dish may be a bit tart for some (with the capers and the lemon) but I had no trouble.

 

Comments

[Cassaendra]

Woah, that sounds great! We have all but the alcohol.

To make the flaky shrimp tempura (versus the smooth batter tempura that she regularly made) and chicken pieces, my mother would dust the shrimp/chicken in flour first, then dredge in egg wash, but she would also dip/roll in panko afterwards. It is puzzling that the directions didn't ask you to coat it in something after the egg wash.

[MOM]

Oh, that looks so good. Am I going to get a taste sweet daughter?

[Livin Local]

This looks like what chicken picatta would have been if he got it right the first time! I'll try this Julia Child style (a little vodka for the chicken, a little for the chef).

[Chris]

Dang it, I knew I was leaving something off of my "to do" list today. I should have had vodka at lunch!

[Mrs. L]

Cassaendra - I've heard of the dry/wet/dry stuff too. But never just dry to wet to pan. Still makes me go hmmm.

Mom - Alas mom, there wasn't any left. Next time.

Livin Local - I've been cooking Julia Child style and I didn't even know it :)

Chris - Hey, make up for it by having Vodka all week.