RESET360 with Camille McLaughlin
Spring Pick: Crockpot Meals

Chicken Fricassée with Tarragon

Bone-in chicken thighs slow-cooked with mushrooms and leeks, finished in a silky sauce of cream, egg yolks, lemon, and fresh tarragon.

Why you'll love Chicken Fricassée with Tarragon

A fricassée is the French home cook's chicken stew, and it sits between a sauté and a braise: the chicken is cooked gently in butter so it stays pale and tender, then simmered with mushrooms and aromatics, and the cooking liquid becomes a creamy sauce at the end. The slow cooker does the simmering, so the meat turns meltingly tender while you are out.

The sauce is the classic part. The broth from the slow cooker is reduced in a saucepan to concentrate it, then thickened with a liaison, cream whisked with egg yolks, the classic French finish for a velvety sauce. The yolks thicken the sauce as they warm, and keeping it below a simmer is what keeps it smooth. Lemon sharpens it, and fresh tarragon, with its soft anise flavor, is the herb that makes it taste like a fricassée.

Tarragon is one of the first herbs back in the garden each spring, and its new leaves are the most tender and fragrant of the year. Serve the fricassée over mashed cauliflower or beside steamed asparagus to catch the sauce.

Quick overview: This Chicken Fricassée with Tarragon takes 25 min of hands-on time and about 5 hr 55 min in all and makes 4 servings, each 2 thighs with vegetables and sauce. You'll need a slow cooker, a saucepan, and a skillet.

Jump to recipe

Chicken fricassée with mushrooms, leeks and tarragon cream sauce
Prep 25 minCook 5 hr 30 minTotal 5 hr 55 minServes 4Serving 2 thighs with vegetables and sauceYou'll need Slow cooker, Saucepan, Skillet

Ingredients

  • 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 lb), skin removed
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt, divided
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter, divided
  • 10 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts, halved, rinsed, and sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chicken bone broth Label: chicken bones, water, vegetables, herbs, and salt, with no sugar, natural flavors, or oil
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream Label: cream, with no gums or carrageenan
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, plus a few leaves to finish
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Season and color the chicken: Pat the thighs dry and season them with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the thighs for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until they turn opaque and lightly golden in spots. A fricassée is pale and gentle, so this is a light color in place of a hard sear; it firms the surface and adds a little buttery flavor.
  2. Cook the mushrooms and leeks: Move the chicken to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until they release their liquid and it cooks away. Add the leeks, garlic, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook 3 minutes more, until the leeks soften. Cooking off the mushroom water first keeps the sauce from turning thin and gray.
  3. Deglaze: Pour the broth into the skillet and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and the broth carries them into the sauce.
  4. Fill the slow cooker: Scrape the mushrooms, leeks, and broth into the slow cooker, tuck in the thyme and bay leaf, and set the chicken on top.
  5. Slow-cook: Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 3 hours, until the chicken is very tender and the thickest thigh reads at least 165°F (74°C) away from the bone. Thighs stay juicy well past that temperature, and the long cook is what makes them pull from the bone.
  6. Reduce the cooking liquid: Move the chicken and vegetables to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and cover them to keep warm. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaf. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and boil it for 6 to 8 minutes, until it has reduced to about 1 cup. Reducing concentrates the chicken and mushroom flavor so the sauce tastes rich.
  7. Finish with the liaison: Whisk the cream and egg yolks together in a bowl. Take the saucepan off the heat and slowly whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture to warm it, then whisk the warmed mixture back into the saucepan. Set it over low heat and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon and reaches 160°F (71°C), without letting it simmer. Warming the yolks gradually and keeping the heat low stops them from scrambling.
  8. Season and serve: Stir the lemon juice and chopped tarragon into the sauce and taste for salt. Pour it over the chicken and vegetables, scatter the parsley and a few tarragon leaves on top, and serve.

Storage and leftovers

Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days. The tarragon flavor deepens overnight.

Reheat gently in a covered pan over low heat, stirring the sauce, until the chicken is hot through to 165°F (74°C). High heat can make the egg-thickened sauce separate. The sauce turns grainy once frozen, so freeze the cooked chicken and vegetables without the sauce for up to 3 months and make a fresh liaison when you reheat.

Variations

  • Chicken breast: Use bone-in chicken breasts and cook them on low for 3 to 4 hours, until they reach 165°F (74°C), since they dry out with a longer cook.
  • Spring vegetables: Stir trimmed asparagus pieces into the hot sauce for the last 5 minutes on the stove, until bright green and just tender.
  • Mustard: Whisk 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard into the cream and yolks for a sharper sauce.
  • Chervil or parsley: Use chervil or a little extra parsley in place of tarragon for a milder herb flavor.

Notes and tips

  • Pull the skin: Skin turns soft in a slow cooker and makes the sauce greasy. Grip it with a paper towel and it pulls off in one piece.
  • Rinse the leeks well: Sand hides between the layers. Slice the leeks, swish them in a bowl of cold water, and lift them out, leaving the grit behind.
  • Keep it below a simmer: Once the yolks are in, watch for the first bubbles and pull the pan off the heat. A simmer curdles the sauce.
  • Add tarragon at the end: Fresh tarragon loses its fragrance with long cooking. Stirred in at the end, it tastes bright and sweet.

Nutrition and mindful eating

  • Chicken thighs bring a generous serving of protein and stay juicy and tender through a long, gentle cook.
  • Mushrooms and leeks fill the pot with savory, fiber-rich vegetables, and mushrooms bring B vitamins and an earthy depth.
  • Cream and egg yolks are the real fat that makes the sauce silky, and fat carries the tarragon's flavor across the plate.
  • Lemon and fresh herbs keep a creamy dish tasting bright, so a moderate portion feels satisfying.
  • As you eat, notice the silky sauce, the tender chicken, and the soft anise of the tarragon, and check in through the evening: a bowl of this should hold you comfortably for 4 hours or more, with no craving for something sweet afterward.

Frequently asked questions

Have a question about this Chicken Fricassée with Tarragon? Start here, with the questions people ask most.

What is a fricassée?

A French method between a sauté and a braise, where chicken is cooked gently in butter, simmered in broth, and finished with cream so it stays pale and tender.

What is a liaison?

Cream whisked with egg yolks and stirred into a hot sauce to thicken and enrich it. It needs gentle heat, just short of a simmer, to stay smooth.

Where do I find fresh tarragon?

In the fresh herb section of most grocery stores, especially in spring and summer. French tarragon has the best flavor.

Can I skip the egg yolks?

Yes. Reduce the liquid a little further, to about 3/4 cup, before adding the cream, and simmer it for a minute. The sauce will be thinner and lighter in color.

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Tags: Spring Pick, Crockpot Meals, French