Sunday, November 14, 2010

Seared Chicken Breast with Quick Pan Sauce


Some nights I really don't want to cook. Or, it would be really nice to make something that is super easy and quick. Especially on those nights when I'm just too exhausted to put in the effort of making something homemade. But, homemade is always better, right? Right. So, I went searching for a quick chicken recipe, and came across this one. The nice thing about this particular recipe is that the site includes several different pan sauces you can make. I chose a Rosemary and Dijon sauce. Seriously, this recipe was very easy and very quick. Just how I like it on those nights when you just want to kick back and take it easy. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
flour for dredging
Ingredients for pan sauce (See below)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Pan Sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

First thing I did was wrap the chicken breast in plastic wrap and pounded the chicken with a meat tenderizer. I wanted to thin it out a bit before searing it.
Next, take some salt and freshly ground pepper and sprinkle it onto the chicken (both sides) generously. Take about 1/2 cup of flour and put it onto a plate. At this point, you can go ahead and combine your ingredients for the pan sauce. Set aside.
Now, go ahead and take a skillet and heat 2 tbsp of the butter and the oil over medium heat. Dredge the chicken breast in the flour and shake off any excess flour. Go ahead and turn up the heat to medium-high. When the pan is good and hot, add the chicken breast. Go ahead and flour however many more breasts you are making and add to the pan. Let cook for about 4-5 minutes. Do not touch it. Then, beginning with the first breast you had added to the pan turn it over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
At this point, I turned on the oven to about 125 degrees and I took my chicken breast and placed it on a plate. I placed the plate into the oven so that the chicken would stay warm. Now is the time, to prepare the pan sauce. You will add the ingredients for the pan sauce directly to the skillet and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan until the sauce thickens. Go ahead and add the last tablespoon of butter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

(Click here for printable recipe)

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