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!
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Recipe
Braised Chicken with Shallots and Mustard Wine Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
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
- 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
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."
Carol
Delicious! Made this tonight and served over rice. Wonderful sauce.
Rosie
Followed recipe exactly and it's amazing. I used Pinot Grigio. Great dish for company.
Darrens wife in CT
Just got prepping this for dinner tonight used 4 boneless thighs and 2 boneless breasts. Used half wine (Chablis) and low sodium chicken broth. Used flavor mate garlic n herb seasoning (salt free seasoning) instead of tarragon.
Also used half red and orange cherry tomatoes for color along with mushrooms. along with half shallots and onions sliced.
Going to serve it with Zoodles (Zucchini noodles) salad and a nice french baguette.
Sharon
GREAT !!!! It reminded us of Julia Childs coq au vin but much easier I didn't have fresh tarragon but used a sprinkling of dried also i used boneless skinless thighs Mashed potatoes were very good with also had green beans on the side. I will be making it often
JennyOH
Found your recipe after seeing the title for the NYT one but not being able to access it! I'm curious about your opinion on finishing it on the stovetop rather than oven. I understand your reasoning for putting it in the oven but I live in the deep south where it's just too hot to turn the oven on this time of year. Thanks!
Lisa
No need to heat up your house! Though I like the steady even temperature of the oven, the stovetop will work well too. Here's what the NYT directions are: After sautéing the shallots and adding all the ingredients into the pan, cover it, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes. I hope you enjoy!
JennyOH
Thanks Lisa! I'll be cooking this one tonight, can't wait to see how it turns out 🙂
Sally
Can I make this, a day before?
How will it hold up?
Lisa
Yes - this dish will be delicious reheated. Reheat it slowly, covered. I hope you enjoy!
ann f donnelly
I'm so pleased with this recipe.. My first time making it. So easy to follow, thanks for the photos as I scrolled down. Most of all its delicious!
Barbara Hilton
I had some boneless chicken thighs that I needed to use up, so found this recipe! Ultimately, it was WONDERFUL, but I should have checked my pantry better before I started, as I had to modify it due to shortages! First, my local store didn't have fresh tarragon, so I had to use dry. Second, that bottle of wine on the shelf that I thought was a light white ended up being a merlot (ARRRGH!) so I only had a cup in an open bottle in the fridge. Sigh.
Tomatoes and Dijon mustard did not appeal to my sensibilities, so I used mushrooms instead. I added chicken stock as a replacement for the missing wine, and a table spoon of lemon. Lots of cracked black pepper.
It was absolutely delicious! 5 thighs, 5 shallots, 8 oz mushrooms made exactly enough sauce (which was disappointing, because I could eat it up with a spoon!) Served with roasted brussels sprouts/garlic cloves/balsamic glaze. Fantastic!
Thanks for the inspiration!
The thymesavor
It’s a keeper! I saw this in NYT last year. Chose to follow your version for the oven aspect and adding tomatoes before braising. So rich and delicious. And easy! We served with sautéed zucchini & baby Bella’s with a splash of wine & creme fraiche. Thank you for enhancing the original version!
Lisa
I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed!l Thanks so much for your comment. PS - that zucchini mushroom side dish sounds amazing!
Nia
I made this recipe this evening. It was super easy and so delicious!! Thanks for the hard work put into sharing this with us.
Lisa
Hi Nia, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chicken! Very sweet of you to take the time to come back and leave a rating and a comment.
Diane
We adore this recipe. Absolute heaven!
jean scarrow
Hi Lisa - I cooked this last week and it was amazing! (and the leftovers were even better...) I forgot to buy cherry tomatoes, so ended up substituting a combination of canned diced and sun-dried. The sun-dried added a nice touch - I think I'd do that again. Thanks for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!
Patricia Ann Stewart
This is divine! Thanks. You have such good recipes. I may add some mushrooms to see what they add.
Barb Kenslea
Hi Lisa, I cooked this for a family gathering on Saturday night. It came out great. The chicken was tender and delicious. I tripled this recipe and if I were to do it again, I would not triple the tomatoes and shallots. I think they would be fine doubled. Otherwise it was awesome!
Lisa
Hi Barb, I'm so glad you were able to triple this to feed a crowd and I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed!
Paulette Ciminelli
This recipe looks amazing but we don't eat thighs so cane I use breasts??
Lisa
Hi Paulette, yes you can use breasts. I would suggest that you follow the first part of the recipe but then turn the oven to 350ºF instead of 375. The breasts cook faster than thighs because they have less fat. We wouldn't want them to dry out. I think the recipe will work well for you with breasts, using the reduced oven temp. You also may want to check the breasts for doneness when you take the lid off. I'd love to know how it turns out!
Ernest Contreras
I love your style, I use wine in most of my recipes this looks delicious must try soon. you're a good cook.
I'll be back.