Chicken Fricassee (One-Pot Chicken with Tarragon Sauce)
Grilled chicken can get boring real fast, and that’s why dinners like this chicken fricassee can be a welcome option for an easy, weeknight meal.
Chicken Fricassee
Chicken fricassee is a French, one-pot chicken dish named after the manner in which the chicken is cut, sautéed, and braised. Chicken that is prepared this way is referred to as fricassee in French.
Chicken fricassee has many variations, but it typically consists of a whole chicken that’s been cut into separate parts (i.e. breast, wing, leg, etc.) first, then sautéed and braised in a pot.
It’s usually made with a creamy, white wine sauce and a mix of vegetables.
My Spin on the Classic
For this chicken fricassee, I utilized diced carrots, celery, and mushrooms as the vegetable base, then brightened the dish with fresh lemon juice and tarragon.
The tarragon is really the star ingredient here, as it provides a distinct, wonderful flavor to the chicken.
I also bought breast halves and drumsticks (skin-on), rather than buy a whole chicken. I usually don’t buy a whole chicken unless I’m roasting it, so using the breast halves and drumsticks is not only easier but more authentic to my weeknight routine.
Dreamy Cream Sauce
Chicken fricassee is not quite a stew, as it’s not as hearty, and yet it’s not a sauté, since liquid is added. It kind of lies somewhere in-between.
And that’s okay with me. Because whatever it is, it’s fantastic. The cream sauce is rich, thick, and luxurious poured over the juicy, tender chicken.
In fact, the sauce is so tasty, I’ll often serve chicken fricassee with a baguette, perfect for soaking up that delicious sauce. The dish is also equally delightful with some white rice.
Aside from the fact that the entire dish is made in one pot (yay for less dishes to wash!), the meal comes together in just about an hour, including prep time, making it a convenient weeknight meal.
Chicken Fricassee
A one-pot chicken dinner made with mushrooms and a tarragon cream sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon (cut into 1/2")
- 2 tsp (28 grams) oil (divided)
- 1 breast half + 3 drumsticks (or any desired combination of parts, skin-on)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 a shallot (minced)
- 1/2 a large onion. diced
- 1 carrot (diced small)
- 1 celery rib (diced small)
- 8 oz (227 grams) mushrooms (sliced with stems removed)
- 2 tbsp (16 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 sprigs of parsley
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can (411 grams) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup (74.5 grams) white wine
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) half n half
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp (30.5 grams) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (14 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp tarragon (chopped)
Instructions
- First, pat dry the chicken parts with a paper towel. Evenly sprinkle salt and a small pinch of freshly ground pepper over both sides of all the chicken pieces.
- In a large, heavy-bottom pot (or dutch oven), heat 1 tsp of oil over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces in and sauté until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon so that you only remove the bacon and not its grease.
- To the pot, add the chicken pieces and cook each side until nicely browned and golden. Temporarily remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a plate to rest. To the pot, add the shallot, onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté until they're soft and tender - about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the mushroom slices until they're tender and glossy - about 5 minutes. Then stir in the flour and sauté for about 1 minute, until the flour is absorbed by all the veggies and is no longer visible.
- Pour in the chicken broth, white wine, and 2 1/3 cups (551 grams) of water to the pot. Add 1/2 tsp (2.8 grams) of salt and a pinch of ground pepper. Then tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf together using kitchen string. Drop this herb bouquet into the pot. Add the chicken back into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer. Partially cover the pot with a lid.
- Cook the chicken for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fork tender and reads at least 165°F on a thermometer. Meanwhile, in separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and half n half together until combined; temporarily set aside.
- Once the chicken is ready, temporarily remove the chicken from the pot. Then stream in 1/4 cup of the sauce from the pot into the bowl of egg batter, streaming it in slowly and whisking the egg batter vigorously as you do. Now, pour this egg mixture into the pot and give it a stir.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Then add the lemon juice, butter, and chopped tarragon. Give everything a stir, then add the chicken back into the pot. Continue to let the sauce simmer with the chicken for a few minutes before serving. Pour some sauce over the chicken once it's plated, and add any extra sauce to a gravy boat to accompany on the table.
Notes
If you don't have bacon on hand, you can simply replace it with a tablespoon (14 grams) of unsalted butter instead.
Saw in this weeks Mon Petit Four email and decided it would make a yummy Sunday dinner while we watch The Masters. So good! Layers of delicious flavor. It’s a keeper Beeta!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Karen! I love it as well! 🙂
At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, is it possible to use boneless skinless chicken breasts? It’s a cold rainy day and I’ll be on video calls literally all day but this sounds absolutely divine for dinner.I have boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand and really don’t want to run out to the store.
Hi Genevieve! Yes you can ☺️ Enjoy!
Why can I not find a print button for your recipes? I just don’t want to have to scroll a computer screen up and down looking at a recipe. I’d love to try more of yours, but it’s just too inconvenient. My computer is nowhere near my kitchen and to be honest, I’m not into having to write down all the recipes I want to try. I’d love it if you could direct me to a place to print.
Hi Nikki, thanks for your comment. There is a print button on my most of my recipes right now. I changed the tool that displays my recipes at the start of this month and when the recipes were imported into the new tool, some of the recipes didn’t import correctly. I have to manually enter each of these recipes that failed into the new tool, which takes me a lot of time so I am doing my best to find and fix each one that didn’t properly transfer over. For this particular recipe, I fixed it this morning so you should see a print button now. I appreciate your patience and understanding. 🙂
You have no idea how pleased I am to have had you respond to me so quickly! I have printed this recipe out now and it is going to be my Friday night dinner! Thanks, Beeta, I really do appreciate it and I do love getting your recipes to drool over!
Can this be made in advance and reheated?
Hi Arianna! You can certainly do that, as it would be very similar to reheating any leftover dinner from the night before. My suggestion for freshest taste would be to follow the recipe up until step 6. After the chicken has cooked 25 to 30 minutes as directed in step 6, I would then cover the chicken in the pot and let it cool until you can place the pot in the fridge. The next day, reheat the pot over the stove and when the broth in the pot is warm again, continue with the rest of step 6 and step 7. Hope that helps! 🙂