Poulet Sauté Chasseur — Chicken in Hunter's Sauce

Not yet written for this entry.

Poulet sauté chasseur is the archetype of the sautéed chicken preparations — jointed chicken browned in butter, deglazed with white wine and brandy, and finished with a chasseur (hunter's) sauce of mushrooms, shallots, tomatoes, tarragon, and demi-glace. The sauté technique differs fundamentally from braising: the chicken is cooked quickly at higher heat, removed while still moist and just cooked, and the sauce is built in the pan from the fond, finished, and reunited with the chicken only at the last moment. This preserves the chicken's juiciness while developing the sauce's concentration independently. Joint a 1.6kg chicken into 8 pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 40g of clarified butter in a wide sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces skin-side down (without crowding — work in batches) and brown until the skin is golden and crisp, about 5-6 minutes. Turn and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes. Remove breast pieces when the juices run clear (about 15 minutes total), and legs when fully cooked (about 25 minutes). Keep warm. Pour off excess fat, leaving the fond. Add 200g of sliced mushrooms and 2 finely diced shallots, sauté until golden. Flambé with 30ml of cognac. Add 150ml of dry white wine and reduce by two-thirds, scraping the fond. Add 200g of tomato concassée, 150ml of demi-glace or rich stock, and a bouquet garni. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon with a glossy sheen. Remove the bouquet garni, stir in a tablespoon of fresh tarragon (chiffonade), and swirl in 20g of cold butter for sheen. Return the chicken to the sauce and heat through briefly. The finished chasseur should be a vibrant, herbal, mushroom-enriched sauce — not thick like gravy but flowing and clinging, with the tarragon providing a distinctive anise brightness that defines this preparation across the repertoire.

Not yet written for this entry.