Chicken Fricassee with Crispy Skin (Silky Egg-Yolk Sauce)

Chicken fricassee (fricassée in French) is one of the oldest chicken dishes in European cooking — references to fricassees thickened with egg yolk go back to the 1300s — and it has just had a viral revival. Fallow’s “Probably the Best Chicken Dish in the World” has passed 2.5 million views by doing two things differently: building a dark, porcini-fortified stock from the chicken’s own bones, and re-crisping the skin under the grill with brown butter before the chicken goes back into its silky egg-yolk and cream sauce. The result is a chicken fricassee with the comfort of a stew and the finish of a restaurant plate. It is rich but surprisingly light, because the sauce is thickened with yolks rather than flour. Serve it with our twice-baked mashed potatoes to catch every drop.

Why you'll love this

• Crispy skin in a creamy sauce. The grill trick gives you both, which a classic fricassee never does.
• Silky, not stodgy. An egg-yolk liaison thickens the sauce without the heaviness of flour.
• Deep flavour. Roasted bones, shallot skins and dried porcini turn ordinary stock into an umami-rich base.
• Techniques you will reuse. Fond control, reducing cream and tempering yolks work in any braise or sauce.
• Midweek or special occasion. Simple enough for a weeknight, glossy enough for guests.
• Every cut, on the bone. Breast, thigh, drumstick and wing all cook in the same pan.

Key ingredients & how to use them

• A whole chicken, jointed on the bone — about 3 1/2 lb (1.6 kg), cut into breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings, with the back and trim saved for the stock. The bones release collagen into the sauce, which is half of what thickens it. Bone-in thighs and drumsticks are an easy alternative.
• Good chicken stock, fortified — a litre of quality stock, simmered with the roasted backs, mushroom stems, shallot trim and skins, thyme, bay and a small handful of dried porcini. The onion skins add natural colour; the porcini add a deep savoury glutamate boost that balances the pale cream and yolks.
• Shallots and button mushrooms — shallots for sweetness and to help lift the fond, mushrooms quartered and caramelised over high heat so they add colour rather than just water.
• Dry white wine — a small glass to deglaze the pan and add a little acidity. Optional, but it cleans the base of the pan beautifully.
• Double (heavy) cream, reduced — reducing it separately by about a third concentrates its sweetness and turns it a richer golden colour, and lets you control the final consistency.
• Egg yolks and Dijon mustard — the liaison. Two yolks give the sauce body and a silky texture; Dijon adds acidity and helps stabilise it. Yolks set at around 158 to 167°F (70 to 75°C), so the sauce must steam, never boil.
• Brown butter — brushed onto the skin before it goes under the grill. It re-crisps the skin and adds a nutty richness to the finished sauce.
• Tarragon and lemon — the classic finish. A small amount of tarragon; lemon juice brightens and slightly thickens the yolk sauce.

How to make it (step by step)

1. 1

   Joint the chicken and roast the bones

   Cut the chicken into eight pieces on the bone and chop the back and trim into small chunks. Brown the bones and trim in a saucepan with a little oil over medium-high heat until deeply coloured — this is the foundation of the stock.

2. 2

   Fortify the stock

   Add the shallot trimmings and skins and the mushroom stems to the bones and colour them for a few minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes with the thyme, bay leaf and dried porcini. Strain and keep warm.

3. 3

   Sear the chicken skin-side down

   Pat the chicken pieces very dry and season them. Heat a little oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-low heat and lay the pieces in skin-side down in batches, pressing them flat with a weight or a smaller pan. Let them render slowly until deep golden, moving them to hotter spots as needed, then lift them out. They do not need to be cooked through.

4. 4

   Soften the shallots and mushrooms

   Add the butter and sliced shallots to the pan; their moisture and the butter solids start lifting the fond. If the base is getting too dark, cover the pan and turn the heat right down for a few minutes — the steam loosens it. Then add the mushrooms, turn the heat up and cook until they release their juice and caramelise.

5. 5

   Reduce the cream and deglaze

   In a small saucepan, simmer the cream gently over low heat until reduced by about a third and slightly golden. Meanwhile, pour the white wine into the casserole and scrape the base clean, simmering until it no longer smells of alcohol.

6. 

   6

   Braise gently under a cartouche

   Return the chicken skin-side up. Ladle in the strained stock so the bones are submerged but the skin stays above the liquid. Cover with a circle of parchment and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, until the thighs reach 165°F (74°C).

7. 7

   Re-crisp the skin with brown butter

   Heat the grill (broiler). Melt the extra butter until it smells nutty and turns light brown. Lift the chicken onto a tray, brush the skin with brown butter and a little of the braising liquid, and grill for a few minutes, basting once or twice, until the skin is crisp again.

8. 8

   Thicken with the egg-yolk liaison

   Stir the reduced cream into the casserole and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat to cool slightly. Whisk the yolks with the Dijon, whisk in a ladle of the warm sauce, then whisk everything back into the pan. Warm gently until steaming but never bubbling, and the sauce turns silky.

9. 9

   Finish and serve

   Season with black pepper, then stir in a little chopped tarragon and a squeeze of lemon. Spoon the sauce and mushrooms onto a platter, set the crispy chicken on top, drizzle over the brown butter juices from the tray, and finish with flaky salt on the skin and a lemon wedge.

Troubleshooting

• The sauce scrambled. It got too hot after the yolks went in. Temper the yolks with warm, not boiling, sauce and keep it below a simmer. A tiny split can sometimes be rescued by whisking in a spoonful of cold cream off the heat.
• The sauce is thin. Reduce it a little longer before adding the yolks, or add a splash more reduced cream. The yolks and lemon thicken it further, but only once it already coats a spoon.
• The fond burned. The heat was too high during searing. Keep it medium-low; if the base darkens, cover and steam it on low to lift it before it turns bitter.
• The skin went soft. It always will in the braise — that is what the brown-butter grilling step is for. Keep the skin above the stock during braising so it has a head start.
• The sauce is too pale and flat. The stock needed more colour. Roast the bones well, include the onion skins and porcini, and caramelise the mushrooms properly.
• Too much tarragon. It is strong and can overpower the sauce. Add a pinch, taste, then add more.

Serving ideas

Chicken fricassee needs something to soak up the sauce. Mashed potatoes are classic, and our twice-baked mashed potatoes are a treat. Crusty bread or warm garlic knots work too, as does buttered rice or tagliatelle. For a creamy chicken dinner menu, it pairs naturally with ideas from our creamy chicken pot pie.

Watch the original video

The techniques above come from Fallow’s viral chicken fricassee video: the fortified stock, the cartouche braise, the brown-butter re-crisp and the egg-yolk liaison. The video does not give exact amounts, so the quantities, food-safety temperature and troubleshooting guide are our own, scaled for four people.

Video: Fallow on YouTube.

Featured photo: “Mmm... morel mushrooms in a cream sauce on chicken” by jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, resized and cropped. Step photos are credited in their captions.