French-Style Chicken Chasseur Recipe

Nobody does classic, hearty, and simple-yet-sophisticated cuisine quite like the French. Chicken chasseur is a great example of this, and this French-style chicken chasseur recipe, from the kitchen of recipe developer Jennine Rye, is a cozy, homey dish with elegantly balanced flavors that you might want to cook up as the weather grows cooler and the days grow shorter.

The origin of chicken chasseur, meaning "hunter's chicken," is often attributed to writer, pope, and politician Duke Philippe De Mornay in the 1600s, although there is little actual evidence for this. What we do know is that this dish was inspired by hunters combining their game birds with a variety of foraged foods, typically mushrooms and herbs. These were then cooked up in a rich, wine-based sauce for a hearty, rustic stew, perfect for warming up on cool autumnal days. This recipe showcases all the classic French elements of this dish, featuring chicken pieces fried in butter until golden, shallots, mushrooms, and carrots to form the hearty base of the stew. These are simmered in a white wine and tomato sauce that is lightly flavored with fresh thyme and tarragon. If you are looking for a rich and rustic one-pot dish to leave you feeling full and nourished, look no further than this French-style chicken chasseur recipe.

To begin this French-style chicken chasseur recipe, first you will need to gather the ingredients. To prepare and fry the chicken, you will want all-purpose flour, sea salt, black pepper, bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces, olive oil, and butter. To assemble the stew, you will also need shallots, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, white wine, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, fresh thyme, and fresh tarragon.

Combine the all-purpose flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour to coat.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan with the olive oil and butter to a medium-high heat.

Add the floured chicken pieces to the pan.

Fry for 7 to 8 minutes, turning regularly, until the chicken is golden.

Remove the chicken from the pan.

Add the shallots, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms to the pan.

Saute for 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the white wine, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, thyme, and tarragon.

Return the chicken to the pan.

Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the chicken chasseur.

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If you are looking for some ways to add your own twist to this chicken chasseur recipe, we have a few suggestions for you. Although there are certain elements you will want to maintain to keep this as a chasseur recipe, there is still plenty of scope to mix things up according to your personal preferences. While this recipe uses white wine as a base for the sauce, you can swap this for red wine instead for an even richer, more full-bodied finish. Alternatively, you can choose to omit the alcohol entirely and substitute the liquid quantity with more chicken stock instead.

Mushrooms are a key addition to any chasseur sauce, but you can experiment with adding different varieties of mushrooms to mix things up and add a depth of flavor. If you are a confident forager then you can always include whatever safe mushrooms the woodlands offer up, though we recommend caution and encourage you to always check any foraged goods with the appropriate professionals before consumption. For those who prefer to stick to the store-bought variety, porcini, chanterelles, morels, and maitake mushrooms all make delicious additions. While tarragon is considered by many to be a traditional element to any chasseur sauce, you can always add your own variety of herbs, with rosemary, oregano, and parsley all making great additions. Finally, for a larger adaption, you can always switch up your protein of choice and use turkey, rabbit, or even white beans instead.

This chicken chasseur recipe is made solely on the stovetop, providing a simple yet delicious one-pot dinner option, but that doesn't mean that the hob is the only way you can prepare this dish. You can also place a lid on your chicken chasseur dish once the individual elements have been assembled and allow it to bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 F, which results in melt-in-the-mouth chicken and a rich, hearty stew. If you prefer to get ahead of the game and prep your meals in the morning so you can come home to a perfectly cooked dinner, this chicken chasseur dish can also be made using a slow cooker. Simply prepare the individual elements as per the recipe, then leave the dish to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

For an alternative option, you can also prepare the chicken and the sauce separately by grilling or roasting your chosen cut of chicken, and cooking up the sauce in a pan on the hob. This can result in a more refined-looking dish, and one in which you have more control over the individual elements.

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