In 1984, the year Dave and I were married, I came across this promotional recipe from McCall’s Cooking School that they were featuring in their cookbook. This recipe for Chicken Tarragon caught my eye and I have been making it ever since. For the chicken thighs, I like to buy them from my local butcher Herman’s Quality Meat (see link in the Hometown Favorites website page). This recipe seems to have a lot of ingredients, but they are all simple and the dish comes together easily. Enjoy!
In a large Dutch oven (about 6 quarts), melt the oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat. Add washed and dried chicken thighs skin down. Brown on both sides to an internal temperature of at least 140 deg F. Set chicken aside. In the Dutch oven, sauté onions and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back in the pot. Place the cognac in a metal ladle and warm over a burner for a minute or two
Then inside the Dutch oven, light the cognac in the ladle for a minute or two. Blow out flame unless the flame burns out on its own. Pour cognac and wine into the pot. Add chopped tarragon, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 30 minutes with the cover on the pot. Remove chicken to heated serving platter. With a slotted spoon, remove all the vegetables and save as a side dish. Wisk the cream, egg yolk and flour. Stir the mixture into the remaining drippings and bring to a boil while whisking. If it seems too thick, add a little more wine. Simmer until you are ready to plate. In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms in a separate pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. On a serving platter, place the mushrooms, then the chicken and cover with the sauce. You can garnish with fresh sprigs of tarragon. This dish not only tastes great but has a nice presentation! Serves 6 to 8.