On a quest to find something French but maybe a bit less formal? Let’s try this Chicken Fricassee recipe without any road sign!

Finding our way in the never-ending stream of information of our era can be as tough as a thin slice of overcooked beef that we tried to make for our very first Pepito de ternera.

The journey or the end of the road?

Like it wouldn’t be hard enough to set out for a journey of our own, we are now held back not by the difficulty of the road itself and our own doubts, but by the helpful advice that promise to take us to the end of our journey quickly and easily.

We keep forgetting though, that the goals aren’t really as important as the journey. Sure, if we have to lose 7 stones / 50kg for a heart surgery, we don’t really care about how we get there, but we genuinely should.

The road, to get to where we are and where we want to be, is much more important than what’s waiting for us at the end.

Does the path matter?

Unfortunately, we know very little of the path that led us where we are. Most of the time we just followed our instincts and old habits instilled into us by our parents, partners and the surrounding environment.

A bit like Hansel and Gretel were led into the wood and left there to fend for themselves. As they find that the breadcrumbs, they used to mark the way home, were eaten by birds, we are struggling to find a way out of our situation and only hope that we won’t find a house made of cookies, candies or even worse, chocolates.

What’s on the journey?

There are many solutions from painless diets through operations to fat reduction that offer to take us out of the woods to the coziness of our home but the bad news is that without us going through the journey and learn about ourselves on the road, there won’t be permanent changes in our life.

Hansel and Gretel were led back to the woods a second time when they got home easily and they were only spared a third time because the trigger of all the actions, their stepmother, was dead. They only lived happily ever after, and not died from starvation, because they found treasures during their adventure that they could rely later on.

What’s fricassee?

Of course, we don’t have to have our stepmother eliminated to be able stop eating chocolate nor roast the cashier at the shops. We simply have to learn to resist trying out any treat that comes in our way and get rid of any trigger that leads us into the deep dark wood.

Finding the best way to do that, is as simple as finding the diet that suits us most or making a chicken fricassee without ever trying French cuisine before.

Chicken fricassee is a stew made with pieces of chicken.

The exact origin of the word fricassee is unknown, except that it’s French and most likely means fried, broken up pieces. Essentially that is what the dish is, bits of pieces of meat fried in a bit of fat and poured more fat over it.

What’s in Chicken Fricassee?

Many feel the need of adding a bit of flour to thicken the sauce even more, but if we aren’t into gluten or just unnecessary carbs in general, we can easily skip that step. Chicken fricassee was originally thickened up with egg yolks and that should be enough for everyone, given that it’s being done properly.

To make fricassee, we can use any type of meat. Of course, that means we don’t make chicken fricassee but any-type-of-meat fricassee. Ingredients of fricassee and their exact quantities varies as widely as many grandmothers are in France (a refreshing surprise from a French recipe) but certain characteristics and ingredients are best to keep in place if we want to be authentic.

Onion, celery and carrots based mirepoix and butter seared pieces of meat will provide a framework that will hold our dish together while the white wine (or dry vermouth as a closer resemblance to French wines in the US, suggested by Julia Child) hidden under the velvety cream cover, fills the whole dish with life.

Is chicken fricassee the start or the end?

The rest of the spices and herbs like parsley, thyme, bay leaf and tarragon are sure a needed part of such an iconic dish but since fricassee is being something that French make from what they have at hand, not at all necessary nor the only ones that we can use.

Undoubtedly, when we make something at first time, it’s a good idea to have something in our hand to follow, but once we build up a solid foundation and understanding of the cuisine, our path can stray from the beaten road and find hidden gems in the never-ending forest of flavors.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons / 30g Butter
4lb / 2kg Chicken pieces
3 teaspoons / 15g Salt
1 teaspoon / Black pepper
2 pieces / 250g Onion (diced)
1 piece / 125g Carrot (diced)
1 stalk / 125g Celery (diced)
7 oz / 200g Mushroom (quartered)
⅔ cup / 150ml Dry white wine
2⅔ cups / 400ml Water
2 sprigs / 5g Parsley
2 sprigs / 0.5g Thyme
1 piece / 0.5 Bay leaf
2 pieces / 50g Egg yolk
¼ cup / 60ml Heavy cream
1 teaspoon / 0.5 Tarragon (finely cut)
2 tablespoons / 30ml Lemon juice

How to make Chicken fricassee

Melt butter to medium-high heat. Sear the chicken pieces on both sides in batches. Sprinkle two third of the salt and all of the pepper onto the meat while frying. To get a nice golden brown color on both sides should take about 10 minutes. Don’t over pack the pot.
Remove the chicken and set it aside. Add the diced onion, carrot, celery and the remaining third of the salt. Fry until the onions get a glassy translucent look, about 3 -5 minutes.
Set the heat to medium-low then slowly caramelize the onions while stirring every now and again, for about 15 – 20 minutes.
Increase the heat then mix in the mushrooms. Fry until the mushrooms get browned a bit, for about 3 minutes.
Add dry white wine and water.
Put the pieces of chickens with the juice back, add the parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Add more water if the meat isn’t covered, at least ¾ by the liquid. Stick the herbs under the liquid too. Bring it to boil.
Lower heat to simmer, place the lid on and cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches the internal temperature of 165°F / 74°C that should happen in about 25 – 30 minutes.
Remove pot from heat then remove chicken from the pot. Discard the herbs.
Whisk egg yolk and cream in a bowl. While whisking constantly, spoon in some hot sauce from the pot. The sauce will heat up the liaison that is our thickening agent.
Stir the warmed up eggs and cream mixture in.
Mix in tarragon, lemon juice then put back the chicken pieces and the juice.