THIS RECIPE FOR POULET A LA CREME IS THE EASIEST RECIPE I HAVE EVER COOKED
It is astonishingly simple! It requires just three main ingredients–chicken, mushrooms, and cream–and the time it takes to make is 30 minutes–most of which is watching it bubble on the stove. And it’s incredibly good! Don’t miss making this one. It will reward you ten times over. That likely explains its position as the #9 recipe on all of Chewing The Fat! I have expressed my affection for Jacques Pépin and his cookbook “Heart and Soul in the Kitchen” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2015). Click here and you can order your copy. https://amzn.to/3vSbP3N This book is filled with recipes that are more “at home ” than they are in restaurants. It is the best of French country food, an amazingly satisfying collection of recipes. It’s a triumph of simple cooking. Many of its recipes were made first in Chef Pépin’s mother’s kitchen in the town of Bourg-en-Bresse. And if you know anything about French chickens that name should ring a bell.
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| Poulet de Bresse |
“POULET DE BRESSE” IS FRANCE’S MOST HIGHLY PRIZED CHICKEN
It actually has its own Appellation d’Origine Controlée status meaning it can only be produced from the White Chickens of the Bresse breed and they can only be raised in this legally defined area in Eastern France. It is of course the area Pépin grew up in. It is about 43 miles from France’s capital of Gastronomy, Lyon. So Jacques Pépin knows his way around a chicken, hailing as he does from its center,
Bourg-en-Bresse.
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| “The Physiology of Taste” in Print since 1825 |
FORTUNATELY, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO SPEND THAT FOR CHEF PEPIN’S RECIPE.
In fact, you can’t. Due to strict import regulations, Poulet de Bresse isn’t sold in the States. For today’s recipe, I would suggest getting the best chicken you can find and taking it from there. Kosher chickens are always a good bet because Koshering is essential a brining technique which gives you a beautifully moist bird. While Chef Pépin’s mother used a whole cut up chicken, the Chef himself relies on Chicken thighs, which he describes as being ‘the best part of the chicken’. As a major fan of Chicken Thighs, I was only to happy to oblige Chef Pépin.
THE CHEF’S MOTHER SERVED THE DISH WITH RICE PILAF. HERE IS THE RECIPE. AND AFTER IT, SOME OTHER NOT-TO-BE-MISSED JACQUES PÉPIN RECIPES…
Saw the show with Jacques Pepin and he made the Chicken a la Creme. Serving it with Rice Soubise. Wish you had also given the recipe for his rice pairing. Looks beautiful with the Spinach as the vegetable and of course the chopped herbs.
Dear Lois, Thank you so much for taking the time to write. As you could see in my post, I did not serve M. Pepin’s superb Chicken a la Creme with his Rice Soubise so that ruled out my including a recipe I did not cook. Bon Appetit!
Does it take bone-in or boneless thighs? I have bone-in and am considering removing the bones to cook it faster.
Dear Rosie, I must be honest. How much time are you going to gain? This recipe, as written, takes 30 minutes to cook. And if you de-bone the thighs you have, that will take time. Finally the bones add immeasurably to the flavor of the dish so I really would suggest cooking the dish as instructed. I know you will love the results…in 30 just 30 minutes. Bon Appetit! Monte
Love this Dsh!
So happy you do! Bon Appetit Scott!
What would be a great side dish with this entree? Rice? Bread? Vegetables?
Hello Mark I think Rice would be a wonderful side dish with this recipe. Rice is not staple in France but it is certainly eaten. Here’s Bill Buford’s wonderful article about how to cook rice with a French accent. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/kitchen-notes/how-the-french-make-rice (Of course a great baquette would be a perfect way to enjoy every drop of the delicious cream sauce in this recipe and far less demanding that cooking rice). Bon Appetit!
Dear Mr Pepin,
My mother made the most wonderful version of this. She always claimed, and was proud of the fact, that she never included any flour. Yet the cream sauce was always thick. I have never been able to achieve that. Do you know her secret. ( I don’t think she ever added Tapioca or any other filler,. the lack of a filler being the bragging point. She said she learned how from the family cook just before the War
Thank you for a response and for being a living legend.
Francoise
Dear Mme Brun Cottan, I am so sorry to tell you that even though this is M. Pepin’s recipe, we republished it here on our blog. So I cannot tell you what miracle gave your mother’s version her wonderful cream sauce. I can suggest that you can make your inquiry to his Foundation. Here is a link: https://jp.foundation/about/contact/. Bon Appetit!
Oh thank you so much for you kind response and the link.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too!