Chicken Cutlets with Brown Ale sauce

Serves 4. Published February 1, 2005.

To make slicing the cutlets in half even easier, pop the chicken into the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.


Ingredients

Chicken Cutlets
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat, prepared according to the illustrations below
vegetable oil
Table salt and ground black pepper

Onion and Ale Sauce
1/2 medium onion , sliced very thin
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup brown ale
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar




Instructions


1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 200 degrees. Season both sides of each cutlet with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking; place 4 cutlets in skillet and cook without moving them until browned, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip cutlets and continue to cook until second sides are opaque, 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer to large heatproof plate. Add 2 teaspoons oil to now-empty skillet and repeat to cook remaining cutlets. Cover plate loosely with foil and transfer to oven to keep warm while making sauce.

2. FOR THE SAUCE: Using potholder to protect hands from hot skillet handle, pour off most of fat from skillet; add onion, then set skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, ale, thyme, bay, and brown sugar; increase heat to high and simmer rapidly, scraping skillet bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour accumulated chicken juices into skillet, reduce heat to medium, and whisk in butter 1 piece at a time; season to taste with salt and pepper, add vinegar and discard bay. Spoon sauce around chicken cutlets and serve immediately.




Step-by-Step

Pounding Superthin Cutlets

1. Tenderloins fall off during pounding, so remove and reserve them for another use.

2. Halve four breasts horizontally to form eight cutlets of even thickness.

3. Add 1/2 teaspoon to center of plastic wrap. Turn one cutlet in oil to coat.

4. Top with second sheet of plastic and pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining cutlets, adding oil as needed.