Instructions

• Trim any visible fat and membranes from the chicken breasts. Cut each very large breast in half so you have six pieces of roughly equal size.
• Place one chicken piece at a time inside a heavy zip-top bag and pound with a meat mallet or heavy pan until each piece is an even 1/2-inch thick.
• Season both sides of the pounded chicken pieces with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning evenly over all pieces.
• Chop the parsley and set it aside. Rinse the capers, then pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• In a 12-inch nonstick frying pan, heat the 2 T olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.
• Add all the capers to the hot oil and fry, stirring or shaking the pan, until they open slightly and crisp, about 60–90 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and use a spoon to transfer the fried capers to paper towels to drain. Reserve all the fried capers; you will use half in the sauce and half for garnish.
• Return the pan to medium-high heat (oil remaining in the pan is fine) and, if needed, add a little more oil. Working in a single layer and in batches if the pan is crowded, add chicken pieces, cook first side until nicely browned, about 3–4 minutes.
• Flip the chicken and cook the second side until cooked through, about 1–2 minutes (internal temperature 165°F or until no pink remains). Transfer cooked pieces to a serving dish with the most-browned side facing up. Loosely tent with foil to keep warm while you finish the sauce.
• While the chicken cooks, measure out 1/2 cup chicken stock, 2 tsp minced garlic, 2 T fresh lemon juice, the optional 1/2 tsp sweetener (if using), and cut the 2 T butter into several pieces so they are ready to add.
• With the pan still hot and with the browned bits and any oil remaining, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 15–30 seconds until fragrant (do not let it brown).
• Pour in the 1/2 cup chicken stock and use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook the liquid until it is reduced by about half, roughly 2 minutes.
• Stir in the 2 T fresh lemon juice and the optional sweetener (if using). Turn off the heat and add the butter pieces, stirring until the butter is fully melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Stir half of the fried capers and the chopped parsley into the sauce.
• Pour the sauce over the arranged chicken and garnish with the remaining fried capers. Serve immediately.