Chicken Fricassee (Fricassee de Poulet a L'Ancienne)

Chicken Fricassee (Fricassee de Poulet a L'Ancienne)

from marthastewart.com
Entree
110 min
6 servings

Chicken fricassee (aka Fricassee de Poulet a L'Ancienne) is a classic French dish of seared and simmered chicken pieces with hearty vegetables in a rich, silky sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1whole chicken (3 ½ to 4 pounds), cut into 11 pieces (reserve back and wing tips for another use, such as stock)
  • coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoonsunsalted butter, softened, divided
  • 1 tablespoonextra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 smallyellow onion, cut into ¼-inch dice (1 cup)
  • 1carrot, cut into ¼-inch dice (½ cup)
  • 1celery stalk, cut into ¼-inch dice (⅓ cup)
  • 8 ouncescremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
  • 2 tablespoonsall-purpose flour
  • ⅝ cupdry white wine
  • 4 cupschicken broth
  • 2 sprigsfresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 sprigsfresh thyme
  • 1bay leaf
  • 2 largeegg yolks, room temperature
  • ¼ cupheavy cream
  • 2 tablespoonsroughly chopped fresh tarragon leaves
  • 2 tablespoonsfresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. 1

    Season chicken on both sides with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Preheat a Dutch oven or other large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the oil to pot. When butter melts and foam subsides, add half the chicken, skin side down, in a single layer; do not crowd pot. (If butter begins to blacken, lower heat.) Fry chicken, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

  2. 2

    Reduce heat to medium, and add mirepoix (onion, carrot, and celery) to pot, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Sauté mirepoix, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown in places, 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. 3

    Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms darken, become glossy, and begin to release liquid, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook until flour is absorbed by vegetables and is no longer visible, about 1 minute.

  4. 4

    Add wine to pot and bring to a boil, stirring until liquid just thickens, about 45 seconds. Add broth, and stir.

  5. 5

    Place chicken, skin side up, in a single layer on vegetables; pour juices that have accumulated on plate into pot. Tie parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine; add to pot.

  6. 6

    Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially. Cook until internal temperature of thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, 25 to 30 minutes.

  7. 7

    Transfer chicken to a clean plate. Simmer liquid, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Discard herbs.

  8. 8

    To make the liaison (sauce thickener), whisk together egg yolks and cream in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour 1/2 cup cooking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, into liaison to temper it. Stir tempered liaison into pot.

  9. 9

    Return chicken to pot. Add tarragon, lemon juice, and the remaining butter. Bring to a simmer, stir gently to combine, and serve.