One of Mrs. Mise’s favorite meals is one that she always mixes up with another. The differences between Chicken Francese and Chicken Piccata elude her and generally that requires me to explain them briefly as she’s requesting that I make one or the other for dinner. Her actual favorite between the two is Francese, or “Chicken French” if you’re from the Rochester area.
What is the difference between Francese and Piccata?
The quickest way to tell the difference between the two is to look for the capers. Capers as most people know them are the pickled flower bud of the caper bush. They are harvested before they open and are pickled, sometimes heavily salted, and provide a giant pop of lemony goodness to a dish, especially for their size.
The second way is to check out the breading on the chicken. The breading on Francese will almost always be heavier than on Piccata. That is because when making Francese you dredge your chicken in egg wash before dragging it through flour and adding it to your pan. In making Piccata you skip the egg wash and just do a light coating of flour.
Where did Chicken Francese originate?
The concept of Chicken Francese was actually developed on the backbone of, and 40 years after the concept of, another dish, Veal Francese. Prior to World War II Veal Francese was produced by Italian-American cooks in New York City. Think Chicken Francese, just sub for veal.
After World War II the concept of replacing veal with chicken in this dish was brought forward because chicken was (and still is) a more economical product than veal. However, the dish wasn’t made famous until the 1970’s when James J. Cianciola, known as Chef Vincenzo, put it on his menu at the Brown Derby restaurant in Rochester, NY. On his menu, Chef Vincenzo named it “Chicken French” where it stood on the menu for over twenty years.
Unfortunately for us, you can’t road trip to Rochester to experience this dish any more. Brown Derby closed in the 1990’s for good. Fortunately for us, however – we can still make it! Check out my recipe for Chicken Francese and see what you think.