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Chicken fricassee with white wine and a red napkin.

Chicken Fricassee

Cara Campbell
Luxurious, creamy, and oh-so-comforting, chicken fricassee is a traditional French stew that's going to become a new go-to entertaining meal for you. Unlike other stews, this one only needs to simmer for 25 minutes before it's good to go. Garnish with fresh tarragon (if you can find it, parsley if you can't), a good crack of black pepper, and you're good to go. Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta, or even over rice or pasta!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine French
Servings 6 people
Calories 621 kcal

Equipment

  • Oven-proof skillet or Dutch Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 chicken thighs and legs bone-in, skin-on
  • salt and pepper to season the chicken
  • 2 shallots diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • ¾ lb cremini mushrooms sliced
  • ¼ lb shiitake mushrooms sliced
  • 3 tablespoon flour
  • 1 C white wine
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
  • ½ C heavy cream
  • ¼ C creme fraiche
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoon tarragon chopped, if you can't find it, use parsley instead.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400℉.
  • Heat your oil in an oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil is screaming hot (almost smoking), add you chicken. Allow the chicken to thouroughly sear on both sides (3-4 minutuesper side). Remove from the pan.
  • Add more oil if the pan is dry (see notes). Add your shallot, celery and garlic. Cook until starting to get soft and transluscent (about 8 minutes). Add your mushrroms. Cook until soft.
  • Coat the veggies with flour and allow to absorb. Add your white wine and let it cook off, until it's reduced by half. Be sure to scrape up any chicken bits from the bottom of the pan!
  • Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, dried tarragon, salt and pepper. Return chicken to the pan. Do not submerge the chicken, let a good portion of the skin hit the air. Bring the stew to a boil.
  • Place the skillet in the oven until the chicken has finished cooking (about 30-40 minutes). The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 185℉. Do not cover it - we want that chicken skin to stay crispy and golden!
  • Add the heavy cream, creme fraich, lemon zest and egg yolks to a small mixing bowl and whisk.
  • When the chicken is finished cooking, remove from the oven. Add 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid from the chicken pan to the cream mixture, whisking carefully to temper the egg yolks. Keep adding until you've made your way up to adding ⅔ of a cup of the cooking liquid Carefully add and stir in the heavy cream mixture back into the pan with the chicken.
  • Top with tarragon or parsley, and serve.

Video

Notes

  1. Pan to Dry or Too Greasy: You may find after you take the chicken out, your pan may be dry, or it might be quite greasy. It just depends on the chicken your using and how much fat it has. If it's dry, add more oil before you add the veggies. If it has tons of chicken fat, use a spoon to remove some until you have about two tablespoons left (don't remove all of it - there's great flavor there!). 
  2. Make-Ahead Option: To save time, you can prepare the chicken fricassee up to the point of searing the chicken and sautéing the vegetables. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, follow steps for reheating and finishing.
  3. Freezing: While you can freeze chicken fricassee, be aware that dairy-based sauces may experience some texture changes upon thawing. Consider adding heavy cream and creme fraiche after reheating for optimal results.
  4. Tempering Eggs: When adding egg yolks to the cream mixture, be sure to whisk in a small amount of the hot cooking liquid to temper them before incorporating. This prevents curdling.
  5. Substitutions: Feel free to customize this dish to your taste. Try different mushroom varieties, herbs, or alternative dairy products for a unique twist.

Nutrition

Serving: 250gCalories: 621kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 38gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 210mgSodium: 757mgPotassium: 1023mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 875IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 121mgIron: 4mg
Keyword chicken fricassee, chicken fricassee recipe, fricasseé, fricassee chicken
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