This classic French chicken in white wine sauce is one of my favorite recipes of a pan to make when I crave a comforting and tasty dish. The food is very easy to prepare and can be ready in less than an hour.
Chicken in white wine sauce
The French name of this dish is coq au vin blanc, the sister dish of the classic coq au vin. The classic coq au vin is made with a red wine sauce, while this is made with a white wine sauce.
The dish can be made with or without cream, but it is more dreamy of cream.
As Julia Child says, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
<img src="https://www.monpetitfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Chicken-in-White-Wine-Sauce_1-copy.jpg" alt="Image
of chicken in white wine sauce with carrots” /> While
coq au vin is typically made with mushrooms, I tend to make this chicken in white wine sauce with carrots
. It’s not that mushrooms
aren’t delicious, I just find that most of the time, I’ll have carrots stored in my fridge instead of mushrooms
. Easy white wine sauce
for
chicken
The delicious taste of this dish is largely derived from the white wine cream sauce in which the chicken is essentially bathed.
Poached chicken in white wine sauce absorbs all the delicious flavor of the creamy white wine sauce and the ingredients of that sauce.
Those ingredients include a classic French staple: bacon! Similar to how beef bourguignon starts, this recipe for chicken in white wine sauce starts with browning some bacon.
You’d be surprised what bacon can do for a dish like this. A couple of slices, chopped and fried until you get a crunchy will create the perfect starter for this recipe.
While a white cream sauce has the luxury richness of cream, crispy bacon helps add a savory touch of flavor
. The chicken is
browned in this fat of bacon and set aside until it is added again later for cooking
.
What kind
of chicken do you use?
You can use any cut of chicken you prefer. You’ll only want to use chicken with skin.
Whenever you are making a stew, it is better to use poultry or meat with the skin. That way you can brown the chicken or beef and get an amazing taste.
You can always peel the skin later if you are not a fan of chicken skin.
I tend to use a variety of cuts when making this dish, including thighs, thighs, and chicken breast, but chicken thighs are my favorite!
White wine for
cooking
After
you’ve browned the chicken and pulled it out of the pot, you’ll want to sauté a diced onion and garlic mix
.
After adding the onion and garlic to the pot, a splash of white wine is poured to help deglaze the pan and scrape off all those glorious pieces of bacon that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
That’s really as fancy as the base for the white wine sauce, but after trying it, you’d think the ingredient list would have been much longer.
What wine is good for cooking chicken? A fresh, dry white wine is always
best for cooking chicken
. I like to use sauvignon blanc when I make this chicken in white wine sauce.
Contrary to some people’s opinion, you don’t have to use an expensive bottle of wine for dishes like this.
That said, I like to choose something decent that I can happily drink afterwards with the plate as well.
<img src="https://www.monpetitfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Chicken-in-White-Wine-Sauce_3-copy.jpg" alt="poached chicken in
white wine cream sauce image” />
Creamy sky
Once the pan
has been deglased, the chicken is added back to the pan, along with the carrots/mushrooms, and a more generous portion of white wine
.
This mixture simmers for about 35 minutes until the thick cream is added. Mmm, this is where kindness happens.
Yes, you could make chicken in white wine sauce without cream, but what’s the fun in that? You wouldn’t get anything of the thickness and richness of a cream sauce.
The cream is added in the last 10 minutes of the recipe. Once the cream has been added, the contents of the dish are left to simmer and bubble for the last 10 minutes.
The sauce will be reduced and become thick and delicious.
It’s perfect for dipping a crispy French baguette. A pinch of chopped fresh parsley is the finishing touch before you can dig.
That’s what I call a fantastic dinner!
