Chicken in Champagne Cream Sauce
I’ve seen on the French news this morning that comsumptions of Champagne reached an all-time high this Holiday season, in France (up 6% from last year). Which to many “sociologists” is a result of the wave of optimism swirling among the French these days. Yes, believe it or not, the French (world-famous for their grumpiness) are in a good mood right now. After a few morose years, France is wrapping up a somewhat positive year, with a brand new shiny president, a reformist government and a re-emerging economy – many…
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 whole chicken (3.5 lbs), divided in 4 (wings, thighs, legs and breasts), skin on or off - keep the carcass.½ bottle (375ml) Champagne (or sparkling wine)
- 3 shallots
- 2 1/2 cups (200g) white mushrooms, whole
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp (45ml) sour cream (or crème fraîche)
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- For the chicken broth:
- Chicken carcass
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 medium leek (white part only)
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- For the roux:
- 3 tbsp (45g) butter (salted or unsalted)
- 2 tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
Instructions
- 1
Make sure you read the cooking notes (above) before you start.
- 2
Step 1. Prepare the chicken broth - Peel the onion and poke four cloves into it. Peel the garlic cloves and the carrots. Place everything in a large pot, cover with water, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour.
- 3
Step 2. Peel and finely chop the shallots. Wash and slice the mushrooms. In a large frying pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and add the chicken pieces (except for the chicken breasts – leave those aside for now). Add the mushrooms and shallots, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and the chicken is golden.
- 4
Remove the chicken and mushrooms from the pan (set aside on a plate with foil on top to keep warm), and add the champagne into the pan to deglaze it (if needed, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan too). Simmer for 6-8 minutes, until a third of the champagne is evaporated.
- 5
Step 3. Prepare the roux – In a separate medium pot, melt the butter and add the flour, whisking until you get a thick paste, with a slightly beige color. Dilute with 3 1/2 cups (800ml) of the chicken stock and whisk continuously until you have a velouté (a velouté is slightly more liquidy than a béchamel sauce).
- 6
Step 4. Pour the above velouté into the champagne reduction. Whisk until just blended. Add in the sour cream (or crème fraîche) and cook for 5 minutes. (note: if adding sour cream - not crème fraîche - it might look like it curdles a bit when being added to the liquids. Keeping whisking and the cream will slowly dissolve. Crème fraîche should dilute more homogeneously from the start.). Taste the sauce, and adjust seasonings if needed (salt, pepper).
- 7
Step 5. Add the chicken pieces back into the pan, along with the chicken breasts (still raw at this point) and the mushrooms. Cook for 12-15 minutes, on low heat (or a few minutes longer if the breasts still require it). Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
- 8
Serve with white rice.