Braised Chicken with Shallots and Mustard Wine Sauce

Name: Braised Chicken with Shallots and Mustard Wine Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8 whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat (see photos in the post); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter (use light olive oil for dairy free, see notes below); 12 medium shallots, cut in half through the root, tip sliced off, and then peeled from the tip, keeping the root end intact so the shallot halves stay together.; 2 cups dry vermouth or dry white wine (see notes below); 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 2-3 sprigs fresh tarragon; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

September 29, 2022 Updated November 29, 2022 by Lisa Goldfinger 24 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

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This braised chicken with shallots is one of my favorite chicken dishes to cook for a dinner party. It takes minimal time to prep, cooks in one pot, and you get beautifully browned, fork-tender chicken thighs and sweet caramelized shallots bathed in luscious mustard wine sauce, enlivened by minty tarragon and fresh cherry tomatoes.

5 braised chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet with cherry tomatoes, shallots and sprigs of tarragon

I discovered this chicken with shallots recipe in the New York Times Cooking section while hunting around the web for 'best one pan chicken recipes.' I love braised chicken and at first glance I already knew this dish was going to be special. I cooked it for dinner the following night and WOW, it was amazing!

A Perfect Dinner Party Dish

This is one of those rare and treasured recipes with just a handful of simple ingredients that you can throw together with relative ease and produce the ultimate comfort meal you will want to cook again and again.

I love serving this dish to company. The recipe has never failed me and is such a crowd-pleaser. The chicken practically falls off the bone into the delicious mustard wine sauce. See my tips and photos below on trimming the excess skin of the chicken, to make the dish more elegant.

I made a few minor adjustments to the New York Times recipe: less salt, sliced shallots instead of whole ones. And in my version of the recipe, the braising stage happens in the oven rather than on the stovetop. I prefer the oven mostly because when the lid comes off for the last 20 minutes of cooking, the sauce reduces and thickens as the chicken skin crisps and gets beautifully browned under the heat of the oven.

In Praise of Braised Chicken

Braising is a technique of cooking chicken, or other foods, in flavorful liquid at relatively low heat, until tender. The chicken (or other food) is often pan-seared before braising to develop a first layer of rich color and flavor.

This recipe uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, which make excellent braises. Thighs are the juiciest and most flavorful part of the chicken and the slow braise gets them as tender as can be while infusing them with the rich flavors of the sauce.

How to Make This Braised Chicken with Shallots

You'll need a large heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven with a lid - a pot that can go from the stovetop to the oven. First you'll brown the chicken and caramelize the shallots. Then you'll deglaze the pan with wine, add mustard and herbs, return the chicken to the pan, and finish cooking the chicken in the oven. Here's an overview of the recipe, step-by-step, with photos. (Scroll down to the printable recipe card below, for exact amounts and detailed instructions.)

Prepping Tip: Trim excess skin from the chicken - cut off the extra flaps of skin that aren't attached to the meat. The easiest way to do this is with kitchen scissors. (see the photo below left) I have a regular pair of sharp scissors I dedicate to this kind of task. In addition to reducing the fat content of the dish, this technique makes the chicken thighs look neater and more elegant.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, sprinkle with flour and season with salt and pepper.

Melt butter (or oil for dairy-free) in a heavy lidded pot or skillet, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides, in two batches, until golden brown and crisp. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the shallots to the pan and cook them for 10 minutes or so, until they soften and caramelize.

When the shallots are nicely caramelized, deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine. As the wine bubbles, use a wooden spoon to stir and scrape up all the delicious browned bits of chicken skin and shallot that are stuck to the bottom of the pan, to release them into the sauce.
Stir Dijon mustard and tarragon sprigs into the sauce, return the chicken to the pan and tuck sliced cherry tomatoes in between the chicken pieces. Cover the pan tightly and pop it into the oven to braise for thirty minutes.
Take off the lid and cook for twenty minutes more, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is golden brown and tender.

Serve this braised chicken and shallots with a side of crusty bread or mashed potatoes to sop up all the rich flavorful mustard wine sauce. If you're looking for something green on the side, this butter lettuce salad with citrus honey dressing will pair well.

If you make this braised chicken with shallots, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Braised Chicken with Shallots and Mustard Wine Sauce

★★★★★

4.8 from 11 reviews

Author: Lisa
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

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Description

A simple yet outstanding recipe for braised chicken thighs with shallots and Dijon mustard wine sauce. Cooked in one pot. Adapted from a New York Times Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale

8 whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat (see photos in the post)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter (use light olive oil for dairy free, see notes below)
12 medium shallots, cut in half through the root, tip sliced off, and then peeled from the tip, keeping the root end intact so the shallot halves stay together.
2 cups dry vermouth or dry white wine (see notes below)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2-3 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

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Instructions

Equipment: Large, heavy-bottomed skillet or pot with a lid that can go from the stovetop to the oven.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper, on both sides.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Brown chicken in two batches until golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside.
If pan is dry, add last tablespoon of butter. Lower heat to medium and sauté shallots, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, until softened and starting to caramelize. Pour in vermouth and scrape bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, as the wine bubbles, to deglaze and release all the tasty browned bits into the sauce. Let the sauce heat up for 30 seconds, then turn off heat, stir in the mustard, add tarragon sprigs, then chicken and tomatoes, tucking the tomatoes between the pieces of chicken. Cover pan tightly and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and cook for an additional 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisped and browned (see notes below). Serve hot.

Notes

The best white wine for cooking: Use a wine that’s dry and crisp such as Dry Vermouth, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Avoid wines that are rich, sweet or oaky which can alter the flavor of your dish.

Make this diary free: Sauté the chicken in light olive oil (not extra virgin) instead of butter. Light olive oil has a higher smoke point than extra virgin olive oil and is better for high heat cooking.

For even crisper skin, at the very end of cooking turn the oven up high and broil for a minute or so, watching carefully to prevent burning.

Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist.

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 75 min
Category: Dinner
Method: Braising
Cuisine: French

Keywords: One pot braised chicken thighs with mustard wine sauce

This post originally appeared on Panning The Globe on September 27, 2019. It has been refreshed and republished on September 29, 2022 with more pertinent information and a new recipe title. The previous title was "Dijon Chicken with Shallots and White Wine."

Braised Chicken with Shallots and Mustard Wine Sauce

A Perfect Dinner Party Dish

In Praise of Braised Chicken

How to Make This Braised Chicken with Shallots