These chicken cutlets with orange and thyme sauce are the perfect marriage of sweet, savory and tangy, and are super simple weeknight meal that come together in less than 30 minutes.
These chicken cutlets with orange and thyme sauce are as simple as breading and frying super thinly sliced and pounded chicken cutlets, and throwing together a quick sweet and savory sauce. The base of this sauce starts with two of my cooking staples: garlic and shallots, essential to any perfect sauce. The cutlets themselves are extra savory with the addition of parmesan in the breading, lending the perfect balance to a sauce sweetened by orange juice, and rounded out with the freshness of thyme and tangy dry vermouth (a great substitute for white wine!) Adding the segmented oranges to the sauce before plating gives the dish a perfect burst of juicy sweetness when eaten with a bite of chicken. And as simple as this dish is, it’s complex flavors are sure to impress any dinner party, or even just your immediate family.
- 1 pound thinly sliced chicken cutlets
- 4 mandarin oranges
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- ¼ cup dry vermouth
- 4 mandarin oranges
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Zest and juice one orange. Using a sharp knife, segment the remaining 3 oranges, avoiding the white pith, over a bowl to save the excess juice. Squeeze juice out of membranes and peels. Reserve juice and orange segments separately.
- Dry chicken cutlets using a paper towel. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Bread chicken by dipping in egg and then dredging in parmesan breadcrumb mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry breaded chicken cutlets until browned on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Set cooked chicken aside.
- Add more oil to the pain. Add garlic and shallot and sauté until fragrant and starting to brown, 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with vermouth and orange juice. Add time sprigs, orange zest and and season with salt and pepper. Simmer sauce until reduced and thickened, 5 minutes. Add in butter and segmented orange slices and toss to coat in the sauce. Plate chicken breasts and top with sauce and segmented oranges. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Chicken cutlets frying in the pan
Breaded chicken cutlets are a staple in my house. They are the base of many of our go-to dishes; chicken frances, chicken parmesan, and serve as added protein for many of our meals. There is a consistent store of cutlets in our fridge, whether they are leftovers, or picked up freshly fried from our local butcher. And they make the perfect midnight snack, a go-to for me eaten cold straight from the fridge. But these chicken cutlets with orange and thyme sauce may just be my new favorite way to have them.
Leave a Reply