Pan-Roasted Chicken Paillard

By kimvess

Recipes & Menus | recipes

Pan-Roasted Chicken Paillard
At the Lambs Club in New York, chef Geoffrey Zakarian dusts the chicken with flour and lets it cook skin side down—keys to a juicy cutlet under a superthin, crackly layer of skin. If you can find boneless, skin-on chicken breasts, they'll save you a step. Watch Geoffrey Zakarian make it here.

2 servings

Recipe by Geoffrey Zakarian

Photograph by Romulo Yanes

January 2013

Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce skin-on bone-in chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Wondra flour or all-purpose flour (for dusting)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 lemon, halved

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°. Using a thin, flexible knife, cut chicken breasts away from bones, leaving skin intact. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; using a mallet or heavy skillet, pound chicken until 1/2-inch thick (which will help it cook evenly and stay juicy). Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dust with flour; shake off excess.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Spoon off milk solids (the white foam that separates from the butter) to make clarified butter. (It has a high smoke point and won't burn over high heat.)

Pour clarified butter into a large ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat. When butter begins to shimmer, place chicken in skillet skin side down. Cook, occasionally pressing on chicken with a spatula so skin maintains even contact with skillet, until skin is brown, 5-6 minutes.

Transfer skillet to oven; roast until chicken is just cooked through, 3-4 minutes. Remove skillet from oven; turn chicken breast over. Let stand in skillet for 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with lemon halves alongside.