Poulet Sauté Chasseur — Chicken in Hunter's Sauce

Ingredients

• 1.6 kg Chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
• Salt and black pepper, to season
• 40 g Clarified butter
• For the chasseur sauce
• 200 g Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Shallots, finely diced
• 30 ml Cognac, for flambéing
• 150 ml Dry white wine
• 200 g Tomato concassée
• 150 ml Demi-glace or rich stock
• 1 Bouquet garni
• 1 tbsp Fresh tarragon, chiffonade
• 20 g Cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, for finishing

Method

1. 1
   Joint the chicken into 8 pieces. Season all surfaces with salt and black pepper. Heat the clarified butter in a wide sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces skin-side down without crowding — work in batches if necessary. Brown until the skin is golden and crisp, about 5–6 minutes; turn and brown the reverse side for 3–4 minutes. The skin must release cleanly from the pan and show an even, deep-golden colour before the pieces are turned.
2. 2
   Continue cooking, adjusting heat to maintain a steady sizzle. Remove the breast pieces when the juices run clear, after approximately 15 minutes total cooking time; remove the leg pieces when fully cooked, after approximately 25 minutes. Keep all pieces warm. This is where the dish lives or dies: the chicken must come out of the pan moist and just cooked — left in the pan beyond this point, no subsequent step will restore its juiciness. The juices at the bone must run clear, not pink.
3. 3
   Pour off the excess fat, retaining the fond on the pan floor. Add the sliced mushrooms and finely diced shallots. Sauté over medium-high heat until both are golden and any released moisture has evaporated. The mushrooms should be fully coloured, not pallid or wet.
4. 4
   Add the cognac and flambé, tilting the pan carefully to ignite or using a long match. Allow the flames to subside completely. The alcohol scent lifts from the pan and the flames die without further prompting.
5. 5
   Add the dry white wine and reduce by two-thirds over medium-high heat, scraping the fond from the pan floor with a wooden spoon. The sharp wine aroma softens and the liquid concentrates to a syrupy consistency.
6. 6
   Add the tomato concassée, demi-glace or rich stock, and bouquet garni. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. The sauce is ready when it coats a spoon with a glossy, clinging sheen — flowing and cohesive, neither thin nor heavy like a gravy.
7. 7
   Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Stir in the fresh tarragon chiffonade. Swirl in the cold butter piece by piece over low heat, moving the pan constantly until each piece is fully absorbed and the sauce shines. Taste and adjust seasoning. The sauce should carry a clear anise brightness from the tarragon.
8. 8
   Return the chicken pieces to the sauce and heat through briefly over low heat. The chicken is ready when it is uniformly warmed — do not allow the sauce to return to a boil, which would continue cooking the meat.