Pan-Roasted Chicken in Cream Sauce
Updated November 28, 2021
Gentl and Hyers for the New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton. Prop Stylist: Amy Wilson.
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 chicken, 4 to 4 ½ pounds, cut into pieces, or some combination of chicken parts on or off the bone, approximately 3 pounds
Kosher salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 to 15 morels or other wild mushrooms, approximately 3 ½ ounces
¼ cup Cognac
1 ½ cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
⅔ cup heavy cream
½ cup Madeira wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon crème fraîche or Greek-style yogurt
2 teaspoons finely chopped savory
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon
½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley, to finish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
9 grams carbs; 530 milligrams cholesterol; 1391 calories; 44 grams monosaturated fat; 18 grams polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams saturated fat; 106 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 1602 milligrams sodium; 84 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season the chicken parts aggressively with salt. Set a Dutch oven or large, high-sided sauté pan over high heat, and swirl the olive oil into it. When it is shimmering and about to smoke, turn the heat to medium high, and working in batches, add the chicken to the pan, skin-side down, setting the pieces aside to rest when they are golden and crisp on one side and just kissed by the heat on the other, approximately 30 minutes for all the meat.
- Step 2
Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan, then return it to medium-high heat and add the mushrooms, tossing to coat them with fat. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms just begin to soften, approximately 3-4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the Cognac, and carefully ignite it with a match, or simply cook it on very low heat until the alcohol has evaporated and the mushrooms are glossy.
- Step 3
Scrape the mushrooms to the sides of the pan, then add to it the chicken pieces, arranged in a single layer if possible. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups of chicken stock around the chicken. It should rise about halfway up each piece. Lower heat to medium, allow the mixture to come to a low simmer, then put a lid on the pan and allow the mixture to cook slowly until the meat has cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.
- Step 4
Remove the lid from the pan, and transfer the chicken pieces to a platter to rest. Turn the heat to medium high, and allow the chicken stock to reduce by ⅓, then add the heavy cream, and stir to incorporate. Let this mixture simmer for a minute or 2 until it starts to thicken, then add the Madeira, and swirl again to combine.
- Step 5
Continue cooking the sauce until it can enrobe the back of a spoon, approximately 2-3 minutes more, then stir in the butter, crème fraîche and chopped savory and stir to combine. Turn the heat off, add the tarragon, stir one more time and then return the chicken pieces to the pan. Spoon some sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
I have a quibble with recipes that call for browning of the chicken then cooking the chicken in liquid, in a covered pot on the stove. The crispy, delicious chicken skin becomes soft-ish and less appealing. Am I cooking it wrong? Does anybody have tips about how to avoid this phenomenon? I prefer to put chicken in dish, uncovered, in oven at 450 for about 15 minutes, then lower to 375 until cooked (another half hour plus)... Please advise
Sounds great, but I have a quibble. Do you mean a dry Madeira, such as Sercial, Verdelho, or rainwater, or a sweet one such as Bual or Malvasia? I assume you mean a dry one, but using a Bual would not be that different from using Marsala. I have a similar quibble when one says "sherry".
Agree with reviewer who dislikes the flabby skin on chicken that has been browned and then cooked in liquid covered. Yuck! Using the technique for Roasted Chicken Provencal - Sifton- avoids this and results in crispy skin yet the liquid in the pan avoids the dry meat effect of an all dry technique . Try it!
This seems like a healthier version of Julia Chikd’s chicken with port and mushrooms and cream? No?
Very good used dried hawks wings and baby Bella’s. Crema and Liquid from hawks wings for the sauce.
Some people quibble about browning the chicken and then braising the chicken, making the skin no longer crisp. I have made this recipe both ways to test that, and the braising gives chicken that is more tender, which in the end is worth it to me for this recipe, vs. having crisp skin on top. The recipe as written is wonderful. I make it with chanterelles or hen-of-the-woods when good morels are not available.