Hunter’s Chicken Stew, or Poullet Chasseur
According the that veritable mine of online information, Wikipedia, a
sauce chasseur or hunter’s sauce was invented by Phillipe de Mornay, of Mornay sauce fame, as well as Béchamel, Lyonnaise and Porto sauce fame, so it’s in good company. It is, apparently a “compound brown sauce” that includes mushrooms and shallots.
Its name alludes to more traditional pairings with venison, rabbit and
other game meats, with the eponymous hunter providing the mushrooms for the sauce along with whatever meat he has obtained from his day in the forest.
Chicken chasseur became very popular in England as standard bistro
fare and became so naff that it required rescuing by Simon Hopkinson in The Prawn Cocktail Years. My recipe below has a lot more sauce about it, as I can never understand why someone wouldn’t want lots of lovely unctuous, mushroomy sauce with their gently stewed,
falling-off-the-bone chicken, and of course to soak up the mounds of buttery cous cous or mashed potato or whatever comfort carbs you wish to pair with this beautiful dish.
Cook this in a nice big casserole dish, the wider the better as it is easier to brown the meat and vegetables and means less washing up. I actually cooked this in my big tagine as it is the largest lidded pot my kitchen possesses.
Serves 4
Joint the chicken, so that you have 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs and whole two breasts and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve the wings and carcass for stock.
Add the butter and in a medium heat, gently brown the chicken pieces in a large casserole or stew pot. Do this in batches if necessary so that the pot is never crowded. This should take no more than a few
minutes.
When chicken pieces are a lovely golden colour, remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. To the pan add more butter necessary and add the shallots/onions. Cook for ten minutes, turning frequently so
that they are nicely browned at the edges. Add the garlic the mushrooms and cook for a further three minutes.
While the onions are cooking, make up the sauce: In a jug combine the stock and the wine and the other flavourings and stir well to mix. Then when the mushrooms and garlic are cooked return the chicken
pieces to the pot and pour over the sauce. Slowly bring to a bubble and then put in the oven and cook for 1½ hours. Fry the bacon until browned at the edges and add to the casserole for the last ½ hour of
cooking.
When the time is up beat together the reserved butter with a tablesppon of flour and slowly beat in a couple of tablespoons of thesauce from the casserole. Then pour this mixture over the sauce and stir through to thicken. After this time your chicken should be coming off the bone, if not cook for a little longer.
Serve with mountains of buttered green beans and your choice of mashed potato or cous cous.
* Tiim's tip: As the breast pieces were cooked whole, they shouldn’t be dry as they can sometimes be when cooked with bone-in chicken joints.
According the that veritable mine of online information, Wikipedia, a
sauce chasseur or hunter’s sauce was invented by Phillipe de Mornay, of Mornay sauce fame, as well as Béchamel, Lyonnaise and Porto sauce fame, so it’s in good company. It is, apparently a “compound brown sauce” that includes mushrooms and shallots.
Its name alludes to more traditional pairings with venison, rabbit and
other game meats, with the eponymous hunter providing the mushrooms for the sauce along with whatever meat he has obtained from his day in the forest.
Chicken chasseur became very popular in England as standard bistro
fare and became so naff that it required rescuing by Simon Hopkinson in The Prawn Cocktail Years. My recipe below has a lot more sauce about it, as I can never understand why someone wouldn’t want lots of lovely unctuous, mushroomy sauce with their gently stewed,
falling-off-the-bone chicken, and of course to soak up the mounds of buttery cous cous or mashed potato or whatever comfort carbs you wish to pair with this beautiful dish.
Cook this in a nice big casserole dish, the wider the better as it is easier to brown the meat and vegetables and means less washing up. I actually cooked this in my big tagine as it is the largest lidded pot my kitchen possesses.
Serves 4
- One large chicken, at least 1.5kg
- 200g smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped into largish pieces
- 500g shallots, skinned, topped and tailed. Use very finely sliced onions if you can’t find shallots
- 500g of button mushrooms, or 500g of quartered closed-cup mushrooms
- 500ml chicken stock
- 300ml white wine
- 1tbs finely chopped rosemary, or 2 tsp of dried
- A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, or 2 tsp of dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 1tbs of tomato paste
- 4 cloves of crushed and chopped garlic
- 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 50g butter (reserve a tablespoon of butter for the end of the cooking
- 1tbs flour
Joint the chicken, so that you have 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs and whole two breasts and season well with salt and pepper. Reserve the wings and carcass for stock.
Add the butter and in a medium heat, gently brown the chicken pieces in a large casserole or stew pot. Do this in batches if necessary so that the pot is never crowded. This should take no more than a few
minutes.
When chicken pieces are a lovely golden colour, remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. To the pan add more butter necessary and add the shallots/onions. Cook for ten minutes, turning frequently so
that they are nicely browned at the edges. Add the garlic the mushrooms and cook for a further three minutes.
While the onions are cooking, make up the sauce: In a jug combine the stock and the wine and the other flavourings and stir well to mix. Then when the mushrooms and garlic are cooked return the chicken
pieces to the pot and pour over the sauce. Slowly bring to a bubble and then put in the oven and cook for 1½ hours. Fry the bacon until browned at the edges and add to the casserole for the last ½ hour of
cooking.
When the time is up beat together the reserved butter with a tablesppon of flour and slowly beat in a couple of tablespoons of thesauce from the casserole. Then pour this mixture over the sauce and stir through to thicken. After this time your chicken should be coming off the bone, if not cook for a little longer.
Serve with mountains of buttered green beans and your choice of mashed potato or cous cous.
* Tiim's tip: As the breast pieces were cooked whole, they shouldn’t be dry as they can sometimes be when cooked with bone-in chicken joints.