Chicken Francese, Chicken Française, Chicken Francois or Chicken French is an
Italian-American dish of flour-dredged, egg-dipped,
sautéed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter and sherry or white wine sauce. The dish is popular in the region surrounding
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, where it is known as Chicken French,
to the point that some have suggested the dish be called Chicken Rochester.
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Origin
Despite being such a well-known dish in Italian-American culture, francese is not a classical dish or sauce. There are no written recipes that mark the origin of this dish. Veal piccata
Piccata is an Italian dish of thin pan-fried flour-dredged meat in a sauce of lemon juice, butter, parsley, and often capers. In Italian cuisine piccata is prepared using veal (''piccata di vitello al limone'', ), whereas in American cuisine, c ...
seems to be the closest match among Italian dishes.[
]John Mitzewich
John Armand Mitzewich, more commonly known as "Chef John", is an American chef known for publishing instructional cooking videos on the blog and YouTube channel ''Food Wishes'', with over 1 billion views on his channel.
Early life and education
...
claims that the dish originated with first-generation Italian immigrants. Their recipe for veal francese () was altered by substituting chicken for the more expensive veal.
''Democrat and Chronicle
The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. Headquartered at 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's ...
'', a Rochester newspaper, instead claims that the dish is a recent invention. The paper claims that a ''vitello francese'' appeared in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
after World War II. Chefs Tony Mammano and Joe Cairo brought the dish to the Rochester region in the 1950s under the name "Veal French", after which the dish became popular. When consumers boycotted veal in the 1970s, area chefs like James Cianciola of the Brown Derby Restaurant successfully substituted chicken.[Jim Memmott (2014)]
In Rochester, chicken French rules the roost
/ref> Cianciola later published a cookbook on these "French" dishes.
Variations
Artichokes French is a common variation using artichoke hearts instead of chicken. Artichokes French is often served as an appetizer.[
]
See also
* List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 year ...
* Italian-American cuisine
Italian-American cuisine () is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans.
As immigra ...
References
{{Chicken dishes, state=collapsed
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
Italian-American cuisine
Culture of Rochester, New York
Cuisine of New York (state)