As chefs, we spend years mastering sauté work. I remember my early days working the sauté station for lunch in a French restaurant in NYC. We served over one hundred guests in an hour-and the food was excellent — a dozen hot pans on the flat top, stocks simmering, mise en place of freshly chopped herbs, minced shallots, butter for mounting into sauces à la minute. There is rhythm to good sauté cooking.
You learn quickly that great sauté work is not about rushing — it is about organization and control.
Chicken Sauté for beginners
There are certain dishes that remind chefs why technique matters.
Sautéed ,Chicken Fines Herbs is a classic French dish I enjoyed preparing at the CIA in Skills class.
At first glance, it appears simple — a sautéed chicken breast with white wine, chicken veloute, a splash of cream and fresh herbs. But simplicity in classical cooking is often deceptive. Dishes like this demand proper technique, attention to detail: proper heat control, timing, seasoning, reduction, and sauce work. When executed correctly, the chicken is tender and delicious, the sauce is elegant and deeply indulgent-especially with rice pilaf .
Exceptional ingredients allow classical techniques to shine.
Chicken Breast Sauté
Prep Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Yield: 2 portions
Ingredients
2 ea Chicken Breast, (skin removed)
tt Salt and Black pepper
4 Tbsp AP Flour, sifted
3 Tbsp Clarified Butter
2 Tbsp White Wine, dry (dry Champagne optional)
6 Tbsp Chicken Stock
4 Tbsp Chicken Velouté
2 Tbsp Shallots, minced
6 oz Heavy Cream
4 Tbsp Fresh Herbs, minced (tarragon, Italian parsley, chives)
How to Sauté Chicken
Step 1
Set up an area to season the chicken, in this photo I'm using a chicken breast I've cut into two similar sized pieces. I lightly pound the chicken with a mallet to flatten the chicken breast for even cooking. (trying to have the protein the same thickness)
Season the chicken (I prefer to simply use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper), and let the chicken sit at room temperature for 10 minutes so the seasoning gets into the chicken breast. Dust with AP Flour. Pat the chicken so the flour sticks to the flesh.
Step 2
Add clarified butter (or olive oil) to a warm, sauté pan. It's important to use a pan which is the correct size for the amount of chicken being sautéed.
Step 3
Carefully place the seasoned, floured chicken breast into the hot oil and let the chicken brown for 2-3 minutes. You should hear a sizzle when placing the chicken into the hot fat I like to gently 'jiggle' the pan so the chicken doesn't stick and browns evenly. When you see browning on the sides, carefully invert the chicken with tongs, be careful not to splatter the hot oil.
When the chicken is golden brown on both sides, place the chicken onto a sizzle plate to rest.
Step 3
Add mushrooms and minced shallots into the fond (the nice brown bits of chicken and flour in the oil) and sauté for three minutes; add white wine and reduce until 'sec'-almost dry so the sauce has a mild wine flavor but not overpowering.
Add chicken velouté and stock and reduce to napé (sauce consistency when the sauce coats the back of a spoon) (about 3 minutes), then add the cream and simmer for 2 additional minutes. The sauce will be thick and velvety and delicious!
Add the herbs, place the chicken (and juices in the sizzle plate from the resting chicken) into the sauce and bathe the chicken with the sauce.
I like so serve with rice pilaf.
