Chicken Fricassee

What is Chicken Fricassee?

It is more of a method of cooking than an actual recipe. Chicken Fricassee literally means cut up and fried chicken, so what you add to the chicken is up to the cook entirely.

However, what is nowadays accepted as a chicken fricassee is chicken braised in white wine cream sauce.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4-6)

1 Tbsp olive oil
8 chicken thighs and/or legs, combined - salt and pepper , to taste
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion , chopped
2 cloves garlic , minced
2 carrots, cut in large pieces (or 1 c. baby carrots)
1 c. sliced button mushrooms
3-4 sprigs thyme, (leaves only)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Pat dry chicken with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. (*Laurie’s Cooking Tip: DO NOT skip this step. If there is moisture on the chicken it may pop and burn you!) Place a large deep pan over medium/high heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Brown chicken approximately 4 minutes per side until golden on each side but not cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside until needed. Discard excess fat leaving 1 Tbsp and browned bits in the pan. (*Laurie’s 2nd Cooking Tip: if you do not have or wish to use non-stick cookware or cast iron, let your pan do the work for you! A friend’s mom started a stainless-steel cookware company and her advice was to let the meat cook until the pan “released the meat” when browned. You’ll see it pop up. Let it brown! If you try to turn it before it’s time, it will stick!)

Step 2: Add 1 Tbsp butter to the pan and sauté chopped onions, mushrooms and carrots over low heat for 7-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and fresh thyme leaves and cook briefly for 30 seconds. Add 2 Tbsp flour and cook while stirring until flour is completely absorbed by the fat and mixture smells nutty. Add 1/2 cup white wine and simmer until slightly reduced. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken stock.