Pan-Seared Chicken with Lemon Chive Reduction

Now, now, I know what you're thinking. Yikes, that sounds hard. No, it is not. And yes, it IS fancy. Fancy enough that you could serve it to company and they will marvel at your skills but only YOU will know how easy it is. The problem with pan-seared anything but ESPECIALLY chicken is that it tends to be dry, chewy, and tough given the heat of the pan needed to brown it. It usually overcooks way too fast. Not so with this method. I got this off of my FAVORITE show and cookbook, America's Test Kitchen. Seriously, I'm addicted like a housewife is addicted to Soap Operas. Husband even calls it my "stories". That aside, here's the recipe.

***One important note before we begin, you MUST have a stainless steel pan to make this work. Non-stick WILL NOT WORK. I always get blasted by people who swear by how great their non-stick cookware is. Please, bear with my soapbox. Having grown up in a strictly non-stick household, I prefer aluminum/stainless clad for several reasons. Hippie stuff like, "The teflon will kill you!" aside, here they are: 1. You don't have to treat it like fine china. I scratch the heck out of mine almost every day, throw them in a cupboard, let them rub against each other and they are still working like champs. 2. In my experience, they tend to heat more evenly and retain heat more consistently. 3. They really aren't a pain to clean. Put a little dishsoap in it and let it soak and almost everything wipes right off. For charred marks, a sprinkling of Barkeeper's Friend cleanser makes them look like new. 4. And the most important reason, meat browns BEAUTIFULLY and gives off a glorious fond to make the most delicious pan sauces. You don't need to go out and buy an entire set of stainless on my word, but honestly, one good-quality large skillet, in my opinion, is a must-have. Stepping down from soapbox. Thank you.

Ingredients:

4 (6-8 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trust me on the weight thing, the bigger they are the (way) longer they take to cook)

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil (I have tried olive in the past and prefer canola for this recipe)

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. pepper

Pan sauce:

3 tbsp. shallot minced (I usually just use an onion because I never have shallots)

1 tsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh chives (psh. I rarely use fresh. Dried works fine but if you are substituting dried, only use 1-1/2 tsps.

1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Use a fork and poke the thick side of the chicken breast 5-6 times. Sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp. salt. Place in a 9x13" dish, skinned (smooth) side down, cover tightly with foil, and bake 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Remove from the dish, put on a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry.

Heat oil in a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke (this is key. If the oil isn't hot enough, the meat will not brown)

While heating you are going to make a "velvet" which is basically just a coating over the chicken to protect it from getting tough. Whisk together the butter, flour, cornstarch and pepper. Brush tops with it. Cook, coated side down, for 3-4 minutes. While cooking, brush the top of the chicken with the remaining coating. Flip them over and marvel at your skills. They will be GORGEOUS. Cook another 3-4 minutes until the internal temp is 160-165 (or you can just cut it open and make sure it's done but only a tiny slit, you don't want all the juice running out!) Place the chicken on plate to rest while you make the sauce. If you aren't making the sauce, let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Now the sauce. See all those browned bits on the bottom of the pan? That's called a fond and it's all the juices from the meat that have thickened and carmelized and it tastes DELICIOUS. Reduce your heat to medium, put in your onion or shallot and stir around for about 2 minutes. Add, the flour and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen the fond. Increase heat to medium-high again and bring to a vigorous boil for 3-5 minutes to let the sauce reduce to about 3/4 of a cup. Remove from heat, pour in the juices the chicken has released on the plate, add the lemon juice and chives, stir for 30 seconds, pour over chicken and impress everyone!!!