Tarragon Chicken

Saw this recipe in a food/recipe thread on another forum and decided to try it. Was very tasty. Those are Bernie's potato pancakes from this thread underneath. I pan fried them in the discarded/rendered fat from browning the chicken. Very nice Bernie.

Yea, the portion is ginormous (for me); I had a salad as well. I was stuffed (a salad plus half of what is in the photo would have been about right).



Ingredients
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 chicken, about 3 pounds, cut into 4 pieces (2 leg quarters and 2 breast quarters with bones but I just used thighs)
~1/2 tsp kosher salt
~1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fruity white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 small onion (about 3 ounces), peeled and cut into large chunks
1 bouquet garni; made of a dozen sprigs of parsley, 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme, all tied together with string
1 TBS fresh Tarragon, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon soft unsalted butter mixed with 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (a beurre manié, or kneaded butter)

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a sturdy saucepan, and add the 4 pieces of chicken, skin side down and brown over medium heat for about 4 minutes each side. The chicken should be lightly browned, with the skin a blond rather than a dark brown color. Remove and discard some of the rendered fat, leaving only 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan.

Add the wine, chicken stock, onion, tarragon, and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, and boil gently, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken to a platter, and discard the onion and bouquet garni. Boil the liquid in the pan until it is reduced to about 3/4 cup.

Meanwhile, whisk together the tablespoon of soft butter and the flour and whisk it into the reduced liquid in the pan until it is smooth. Bring to a boil to thicken the liquid, then add the cream, return to a boil, and boil gently for 5 minutes. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter (you can debone it first if you want).

Taste the sauce for seasonings, and add salt and pepper, if needed. Strain the sauce through a sieve, spoon over chicken and serve immediately.

Ooooh, that looks great! I'm doing "something" with salmon tonight- I bet that would be equally good with salmon.

I was thinking the same thing last night! I was thinking of subbing dashi for the chic broth for fish but most people don't have kombu lying around (I only found it online). Maybe squeeze a lemon in the sauce?

I think that's the ticket! Thanks for the idea- we'll be having "Salmon with Tarragon" tonight.

I have a ton of basil, too, so we may try to "pesto-size" it instead of the tarragon.

Yea that's fresh basil as the garnish in the pic. I used it in a salad that had seared queso fresco w/ fresh basil, baby greens, roma tomato, pine nuts and blush wine vinaigrette. I had seen another salad with seared haloumi w/ fresh basil, baby greens, proscuitto, strawberries with a simple balsamic vinaigrette and took the idea from that. You press the fresh basil into the cheese just before searing. Both cheeses are virtually unmeltable (so they sear well) but the queso fresco is too mild, the haloumi is allegedly quite salty so it cuts through (I've never tried it).

Hmmm- I just made chevre last night. I have some homemade feta too. I don't think either cheese will melt well, so I could do some seared cheese I think.

You've got some ideas churning here for me!

Tarragon is an overlooked herb.

The best lasagna I ever made was a simple Tarragon, Heirloom Tomato and Ricotta lasagna. It was for a wedding reception 4 years ago.

people still bug me for that recipe.