Quick Chicken Fricassee

Here’s something new I made today. It’s a very flexible recipe in my mind. Feel free to substitute pork (like I did) or beef in for the chicken.

Here’s the original recipe from America’s Test Kitchen (sign in required)

Serves 4 to 6
Two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves may be substituted for the tarragon in this recipe.

What you’ll need

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination
table salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound cremini mushrooms , stems trimmed, caps wiped clean and cut into 1/4-inch slices ( I used plain white mushrooms)
1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic (about 1 clove minced)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon or most any freshly chopped herb

Cooking Steps
First, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat butter and oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter stops foaming, place the pieces of chicken in skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Turn each piece of chicken and cook until browned on second side, another 4 minutes pr so. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a large plate.

Add the mushrooms, onion, and wine to now-empty skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the flour and the garlic; cook, stirring constantly, for a minute. Add the broth and bring the mixture to boil. Make sure you are scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen those delicious browned bits of flavor the chicken left behind. Put the chicken back into the pan, pour any juices that drained from the meat while resting to the skillet. Reduce the burner heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until your meat thermometer reads 160 degrees when inserted in breasts and 175 degrees when inserted in thighs. This will take roughly 5 to 10 minutes.

After the chicken is cooked, remove it and place on a clean platter and tent loosely with foil to keep it warm. Whisk the sour cream and egg yolk together in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly stir 1/2 cup of the sauce from the pan into the sour cream mixture. Stirring constantly, slowly pour sour cream mixture into the remaining simmering sauce. Stir in nutmeg, lemon juice, and tarragon. Return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Plate chicken, sauce over it and serve.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to follow me on FaceBook.

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