Technique- “Velveting” Paleo Style

What’s ‘velveting’?

It’s a Chinese cooking technique in which  chicken is  coated in a mixture of egg white and cornstarch in order to keep it more moist.

So, how does this apply to Paleo, since we don’t use cornstarch?

Enter, once again, the lovely coconut.

Using a plain coconut flour (JUST coconut- nothing added), I used the same technique while preparing a Paleo-ized Chicken Piccata (skipping the capers and butter and flour).

First:

Cut chicken breasts in half to make cutlets.  Then, pat dry and dredge lightly in coconut flour.  Cook in olive oil in a case iron skillet over med-high for about 2 -3 minutes on one side, then flip and repeat on the other side.

VELVET 1

Then, take the chicken out of the pan, and place in a 200F oven in a pre-warmed glass or ceramic dish.

Velvet 2

Next, in the same skillet, add some chopped shallots, some homemade chicken broth and some lemon slices.  Cook over med-high and scrape any bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon.  Let the liquid reduce a bit to naturally allow it to become thicker, without having to rely on non-paleo white flour!

Velvet 3

Finally, pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with parsley.

Velvet5