Chicken Francese, Chicken Française, or Chicken French is an
Italian-American dish of flour-dredged, egg-dipped,
sautéed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter and white wine sauce. The dish is popular in the region surrounding
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, 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 seems to be the closest match among Italian dishes.[
]John Mitzewich
John Armand{{Cite web, url=https://twitter.com/foodwishes/status/934215380599312384, date=24 November 2017, accessdate=24 November 2017, title=Middle name Tweet Mitzewich (born July 11, 1963), more commonly known as "Chef John", is an American che ...
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. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fa ...
'', 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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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 is the most common type of poultry in the world, and was one of the first domesticated animals. Chicken is a major worldwide source of meat and eggs for human consumption. It is prepared as food in a wide ...
* Italian-American cuisine
References
{{Chicken dishes, state=collapsed
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Italian-American cuisine
Culture of Rochester, New York
Cuisine of New York (state)