TK has us start by combining a teaspoon each of paprika (in the Keiser house, we prefer the Hungarian Mild Paprika that comes in the red tin) and Madras curry powder (we used regular curry power) in a bowl and coating both sides of the 6 chicken breasts the recipe calls for; the chicken breasts then chill out in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Toward the end of the 2 hours, pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees if you intend to cook the chicken breasts in batches so the meat stays warm while other batches cook.
After the 2 hours expires, it’s time to get pull out the meat mallet and pound the chicken breasts to a 1/4 inch thickness between 2 pieces of parchment paper. When flattening chicken, start in the middle of the breast and with some finesse (read: not brute strength) pound lightly working center to edge.
Thomas has us use a large frying pan, in which we are to heat enough canola oil to create a light film on the bottom. While the oil heats, dust the chicken with kosher salt (Keller recommends Diamond Crystal over Mortons). Taking care not to crowd the pan, cook the chicken breasts over medium-high heat on each side until golden brown, approx. 1-1 ½ minutes per side.
When the chicken is done cooking, wipe out the pan and return it to the stove over medium heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and sauté one chopped shallot (we used a 1/8 cup of yellow onion). A ¼ cup of dry white wine is then added to the pan and the stove turned up to medium-high heat (not having any wine, we diluted an 1/8 cup of lemon juice with an 1/8 cup of water). Cook until the wine (or lemon-water) is reduced by half, approx. 1 minute, before adding 1 cup of chicken stock. Bring the stock to a boil and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, approx. 2 minutes. 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon (we used dried oregano), 2 tablespoons of butter, and any juice from the meat is then added to the pan and cooked until the butter is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, plate the chicken, cover in the pan sauce, and enjoy!
I consider myself a gravy/pan sauce/au jus aficionado (so legit in fact I got a gravy separator during Christmas 2010), and on my gravy/pan sauce/au jus quality rating scale, the sauce hit a respectable 7/10 (Calibration: Miracle Whip = 1/10 Lawry’s Prime Rib Beef Gravy = 10/10). After a busy weekend complete with a house guest, a birthday dinner, a house warming party, and an Astros game in the company box, this was an incredibly easy and satisfying meal to come home and make!
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