Classic Chicken Fricassee Recipe. Halfway between a sautee and a stew, this is original French comfort food. With hearty vegetables and a silky sauce, this is a delightful dinner recipe for the family and perfect for entertaining.
I don’t mind an occasional “kitchen production” meal. Especially if it’s this fabulous with flavor. This took three hours from start to finish, and the end result was worth every minute. It was a lazy and relaxing project, each step was ten minutes here, ten minutes there. I’m just glad I started early. The chicken is browned, then simmered in a sauce that includes carrot, celery, onion, spices and then finished with lemon, egg yolks and cream. Which by the way equals an OMG final result of fall off the bone meat dripping in a wonderful silky gravy. The reactions at the dinner table were proof.
What Is Chicken Fricassee
A fricassee simply means meat, usually poultry, which has been cut in pieces, browned, and then stewed in a gravy which includes vegetables. I’ve done some Googling and have seen recipes Cajun fricassee’s, and several recipes with beef or lamb. I want to cook and devour them all.
Chicken Fricassee Recipe
We love these types of braised chicken dishes as they seem perfect for Fall meals. I hope you give this Chicken Fricassee Recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. If you have a braised chicken recipe, I’d love if you shared it.
Don’t forget a chunk of rustic bread to sop up that gravy.
More Braised Chicken Recipes
- Dolores’s Broken Hearted Chicken
- Braised Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Porcini and Dried Cherries
- Rosemary Chicken Thighs
- Braised Tangerine Chicken with Star Anise
- Braised Tarragon Chicken
- Braised Creole Chicken Thighs in Creamy Mustard Sauce
- Chicken Marengo Recipe
- Sticky Lips Chicken
A classic French braised chicken recipe. One Pot meal.
- 1 whole chicken cut into 11 pieces (reserve back and wing tips for another use, such as stock), 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms trimmed and quartered
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 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.
- Reduce heat to medium, and add mirepoix (onion, carrot, and celery) to pot, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Saute mirepoix, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown in places, 8 to 10 minutes.
- 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.
- Add wine to pot, and bring to a boil, stirring until liquid just thickens, about 45 seconds. Add broth, and stir.
- 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. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover partially. Cook until internal temperature of thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a clean plate. Simmer liquid, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Discard herbs.
- 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.
- Return chicken to pot. Add tarragon, lemon juice, and the remaining butter. Bring to a simmer, stir gently to combine, and serve.
Classic Chicken Fricassee …It’s What’s for an early Fall dinner.
Looking for more Classic French Braised Chicken dishes? How about:
Kirsten@ My Kitchen in the Rockies says
October 3, 2012 at 10:34 pmI make Frikasse all the time, but mine uses small chopped up chicken pieces from the breast or thighs. Maybe that’s the German version. I also add capers to mine and it is made with a roux. We like it with rice and I totally agree, it is a perfect fall dinner.
Stay warm. Can’t believe this drop in temperature.
Lea Ann says
October 4, 2012 at 6:34 amKirsten, have you blogged about it? I’ll have to head over to your site and do a search.
Axelle the french cook says
October 4, 2012 at 12:19 amWe make very often this kind of dishes when winter arrives 😉
Your fricassée looks perfect !
Lea Ann says
October 4, 2012 at 6:33 amWell I appreciate that compliment coming from someone who is probably a fricassee expert. Thanks so much Axelle.
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
October 4, 2012 at 5:14 amI haven’t made a fricassee in a very long time. Looks perfect for winter.
Sam
Lea Ann says
October 4, 2012 at 6:33 amWell it almost feels like Winter this morning. I think it’s in the low 40’s
Joanne says
October 4, 2012 at 6:01 amThis dish looks like some serious comfort food! Perfect for fall.
Lea Ann says
October 4, 2012 at 6:32 amThanks Joanne. Yes, perfect for Fall.
Karen Harris says
October 4, 2012 at 6:08 amI use to make this all the time but haven’t in some time now. I am a binge cooker. I find something I like and kind of wear it out. I tell you anything that Martha endorses has got to be good. It looks delicious.
Lea Ann says
October 4, 2012 at 6:32 amI like the “binge cooker” term. Me too.
Jenn's Food Journey says
October 4, 2012 at 7:04 amMy mom used to make chicken fricassee all the time when I was a kid! Granted, this is a much more “fancier” version .. my mom’s was very simple…. but wow, does this bring back some great memories!!!
Lea Ann says
October 5, 2012 at 6:08 amI wouldn’t mind having a more simple recipe. You should blog about your mom’s recipe.
pam says
October 4, 2012 at 8:20 amI don’t think I’ve ever made a fricassee – it looks and sounds amazing!
Lea Ann says
October 5, 2012 at 6:07 amIt was amazing Pam.
Vickie says
October 4, 2012 at 10:28 amThis looks delicious and I totally agree about this sort of food being perfect for fall. Love, love, love 3 hour productions. They are so relaxing . . . music, wine, chopping and something simmering = a perfect Sunday for me.
Lea Ann says
October 5, 2012 at 6:07 amThis really was one of those relaxing projects. And yes, there was wine involved, however College football was in the background. :/
Larry says
October 4, 2012 at 2:04 pmI’ve heard of Chicken Fricassee most of my life but had no clue what it meant, thanks for the lesson and it sounds delicious. As for the flambe – you have a deck with a griil, just set it out there, get a glass of wine for you and Bob, and light that baby off 🙂
Lea Ann says
October 5, 2012 at 6:06 amThere’s an inch of snow on the deck Larry. I suppose enough wine and that wouldn’t matter. 🙂
Susan says
October 4, 2012 at 7:08 pmI’ve only made chicken fricasse once and this looks like an even better recipe! I love kitchen ‘projects’ when the weather brings us indoors 🙂
Lea Ann says
October 5, 2012 at 6:05 amSince I’ve never had it, I have nothing to compare, but I can tell you, this was really good.
Mick says
October 5, 2012 at 8:26 amIt’s been so long since I fricasseed – gotta do it again soon, yum, thanks for the reminder!
Rocky Mountain Woman says
October 5, 2012 at 1:30 pmI haven’t made fricassee in so very long! Thanks for reminding me about a great fall entree!
xxoo,
RMW
Karen says
October 5, 2012 at 4:31 pmI’ve never fricasseed anything, but after seeing this (the gravy looks amazing) and seeing that there’s lemon in it, I’m going to have to give it a try.
Chris says
October 5, 2012 at 8:12 pmMy mom made the best chicken fricassee ever and I never saw the woman do a flambe in her life, so I think you made the right choice! Yours looks wonderful, Lea Ann! As much as I loved hers, I have never made my own. Gotta add this to my to do list.