Creole chicken thighs in a creamy mustard sauce flavored with orange, carrots, celery, raisins, onions and oh-so wonderful spices. And with that hint of orange flavor, this braised chicken thighs recipe is impressive and oh-so flavorful.
Braised Creole chicken thighs with creamy mustard sauce may just be the best thing I’ve made this year. The flavors that make iup this recipe blend into a beautiful offering of deliciousness. This recipe was inspired by a memory from Brigtsen’s Restaurant in New Orleans.
I always find myself making Cajun and Creole dishes this time of year. I blame it on an October trip we took to New Orleans a few years ago, which ended up to be an incredible culinary event.
We spent five glorious days sampling specialities like Central Grocery muffalettas, beignets at Cafe du Monde, turtle soup at a local joint off Bourbon Street and dining at a few of the most famous restaurants in the city. All were remarkable and left us with memories that will last us for the rest of our lives.
We loved New Orleans so much that we had planned a return visit the next Fall. The plan was to take in some of the less famous spots and substitute with restaurants that the local crowd frequented. We’ve never made it back because that next year Katrina hit.
Our best New Orleans Restaurant Experience
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Brigtsen’s restaurant. They’ve turned an old house into one of the finest restaurants in New Orleans. Chef Frank Brigtsen’s food is first class, five star incredible and the dining experience leaves you with a cozy, comfort food, home cooked meal feel…in a very upscale way.
Thinking back about that evening, the food, the charming staff that treated us like family, I wanted to recreate this recipe for Creole chicken thighs experience at home.
At the table that night, I jotted down what ingredients I could know for sure were in the dish and asked a lot of questions of the wait staff. Adding a bit of my own personal flare, here’s my version of Creole Chicken Thighs.
Browning Chicken Thighs
I find the hardest thing about any braised chicken dish is getting the chicken beautifully browned. You need fairly high heat to achieve this. Frying can make a mess. But the big frustration to me is trying to brown chicken in an oven proof vessel. Which means it doesn’t have a non-stick surface.
I’ve tried many times to brown chicken pieces in my Le Creuset Dutch Oven, and if it’s not done correctly, the parts of the skin sticks to the surface leaving you with some pretty ratty looking pieces of chicken. Due to this, I usually take the easy way out and brown chicken pieces in a non-stick skillet and then transfer the meal to a Dutch oven to finish in the oven.
If you’re skilled at browning chicken in an oven proof pan, then this meal becomes even easier with only one pan to clean up.
One of the complaints chefs have about non-stick is that it won’t get hot enough to really get a good sear on meats. I use my French Steel skillet or Dutch Oven to brown beef or chops, but still rely on non-stick for chicken. Life seems happier if I stick to that process. 🙂
Creamy Mustard Sauce
Who doesn’t love a good creamy mustard sauce. And this one is a gem. Heavy cream, thyme, whole grain mustard, horseradish, chicken broth and a splash of good white wine. Man, does it get any better than that?
Recipe for Braised Creole Chicken Thighs in Creamy Mustard Sauce
This recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon pure orange oil. I always have a supply of Boyajian all natural infused oils on hand. I’ve used them for years and I truly feel they offer a great product.
I hope you give this recipe for Creole chicken thighs a try and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe. And especially your opinion of this creamy mustard sauce.
And if you have a favorite creole chicken recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Braised Chicken Recipes
- Braised Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Porcini and Dried Cherries
- Braised Chicken with Lemon Potatoes and Olives
- Braised Tangerine Chicken with Star Anise
- Braised Tarragon Chicken
Creole chicken thighs in a creamy mustard sauce flavored with orange, carrots, celery, raisins, onions and oh-so wonderful spices. And with a hint of orange flavor, this braised chicken thighs recipe is impressive and oh-so flavorful.
- 8 chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 celery stalks with a few leaves sliced into ¼-inch pieces. Reserve some chopped celery leaves for garnish
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon Whole grain mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Country style whole grain mustard with horseradish
- 1/8 teaspoon Pure Orange Oil or zest of one orange and 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
Season both sides of the chicken with 1 teaspoon of salt and the black pepper.
In a large, deep non-stick skillet or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and reduce the heat to medium.
Cook until the skin is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Use a metal spatula to turn the thighs over and cook about 1 minute longer. Transfer the chicken skin-side up to a plate.
Add the celery, onion, garlic, raisins, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and remaining salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring often until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the mustard, then pour in the wine and orange oil.
Cook until the wine is slightly reduced, 3 to 5 minutes, then add the broth. Move chicken to an oven safe roasting dish and pour the skillet ingredients over the chicken.
- Cover the pan and braise the chicken in the oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook 20 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a platter and set aside.
Set the baking dish over medium-high heat and add the cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, rosemary, and stir in the chopped celery leaves and parsley leaves. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
I have made this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it works well.Â
When I didn't want to open a bottle of wine just for this recipe, I substituted additional chicken broth for the wine.
I like to use a non-stick pan to brown the chicken. If you have good luck browning chicken in either an oven proof skillet or a Dutch oven, you'll have yourself a one-pot meal.Â
Braised Creole Chicken Thighs in Mustard Cream Sauce …It’s What’s for Dinner.
Rhonda says
October 31, 2012 at 7:36 pmOh my some dishes are so difficult! But that doesn’t distract me at all. It’s all about the food, the photography of it is just a bonus. I love the dish you put it in. I just bought some similar ones at Pier 1. Recipe looks delish.
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:19 amWell isn’t that interesting. I bought those dishes at Pier 1 about 10 years ago. I’ve broken 2. I’m going to run over there and see if they’re the same. I’d love to replace the missing dishes.
Cooking with Michele says
November 1, 2012 at 4:51 amI almost never eat chicken anymore (other than a roast chicken in the winter) because I find it so boring, but this dish caught my attention and is on the “want to make” board!
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:18 amThanks Michele. Let me know when you make it, I’ll be looking forward to the thumbs up or down signal.
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
November 1, 2012 at 6:46 amThis looks fantastic Lea Ann and you photographed it beautifully. We love Creole food as well. And I’m crazy about mustard in anything. I can see why you rate this 5 star.
You brought back great memories for me of turtle (it was legal there) that we used to get in the islands.
Sam
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:17 amI agree about the mustard Sam… I didn’t run out and buy creole mustard for this, just used a combination of two of the scores of mustard jars that live on my refrigerator shelf.
Vickie H says
November 1, 2012 at 8:37 amOh my – this sounds so flavorful! Don’t you just love plumped up raisins in a savory dish? And I love that you used the orange oil in your creole sauce – what a great sounding sauce! I think you did a good job photographing it, too. It’s funny how some of our most fabulous tasting dishes have faces only a mother could love. 😉
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:16 amYes, I love plump raisins. That oil sure comes in handy, especially when you don’t have an orange around to zest and juice. And LOL, love the “faces only a mother could love”. I’ll be using that one next time instead of “ornery”.
Dave says
November 1, 2012 at 11:56 amNever mind the pic, you had me at creole orange mustard sauce! Adding the ingredients to my shopping list as soon as I finish this comment.
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:14 amI hope you like it Dave, let me know yay or nay
Dave says
November 5, 2012 at 11:45 amYay!
Made it Saturday night and it was very tasty. Forgot the raisins, but added carrots and green peppers. My dear wife forbade the heavy cream, but the sauce held up fine without it. Will be making this again.
Lea Ann says
November 5, 2012 at 4:43 pmI’m so glad you let me know. You must try the raisins next time. They’re a pleasant surprise in the whole works. I’m glad to hear that sauce held up without the cream …. couldn’t you have just snuck a little in?? 🙂
Nancy says
November 1, 2012 at 12:28 pmThis looks amazing. Passing on to my personal chef…hoping he agrees.
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:13 amLet me know if he tries it. Do you still have some of that orange oil from the brownie recipe? That’s what I used.
Nancy says
November 4, 2012 at 2:18 pmJust mentioned it to him – we’ll see if he bites…so to speak. If we don’t have the oil we know where to get it!
Lea Ann says
November 4, 2012 at 4:24 pmLet me know.
Larry says
November 1, 2012 at 12:50 pmSounds really good LA, especially when you say it may be the best of the year. It’s always a high when you can create something and have it turn out so well.
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:13 amI wish I would have created this one … just a combination of a couple recipes. It was good Larry, you should give it a try.
Velva says
November 1, 2012 at 6:58 pmThese are the kind of dishes I love too. Soul warming and crowd pleasers. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Velva
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:12 amThanks Velva
Susan says
November 1, 2012 at 7:44 pmWe’ve only been to New Orleans once and it was such a wonderful experience. Dining was so amazing and the sights beautiful. This sounds like a wonderful, Cajun dish!
Lea Ann says
November 2, 2012 at 6:12 amSusan, I’d love to go back someday, but New York City might be our next foodie trip.
Jenn's Food Journey says
November 2, 2012 at 6:12 amI think mustard sauces are harder to photograph anyway.. but I think it looks fantastic! Love Creole cooking and don’t do enough of it!
Axelle the french cook says
November 3, 2012 at 6:52 amOnce again, this is a very original recipe 😉
Lea Ann says
November 4, 2012 at 6:05 amIt should be right up your alley Axelle, you must give it a try.
Chris says
November 3, 2012 at 10:47 amThat mustard sauce sounds amazing. I bet it is really good with all of the flavor from the braised chicken.
Lea Ann says
November 4, 2012 at 6:02 amThat mustard sauce was amazing! I’m really loving braised/slow cooked chicken dishes these day. So flavorful.
Vianney says
November 13, 2012 at 6:47 pmI personally love the picture!! Rustic and comfort written all over it. I’d love a HUGE bowl tonight!!
Lea Ann says
November 14, 2012 at 6:48 pmVianney, you can’t even believe how good this was.