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Chicken Chasseur or Hunter’s Chicken is one of the most popular French chicken recipes. It contains simple ingredients like bone-in chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, wine, and herbs. It’s very easy to make and looks as amazing as it tastes. Serve it to your guests or family, tell them that it’s Chicken Chasseur and you’ll impress everybody. But once they’ve actually sunken their teeth into it, I guarantee they’ll be speechless (that happened in my house). How does that sound?
Ever since I made this Chicken Provencal with Shallots and Garlic I thought it was my favorite French chicken recipe; now we have a debate. Make both and weigh in on this debate.
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What is Chicken Chasseur
Chicken Chasseur is a classic French chicken recipe. It’s also known as Hunter’s Chicken. As a matter of fact, the direct translation of “Chasseur” is “Hunter.” So, at time of inception what would happen is the hunters would bring home game meat, along with any mushrooms that they’d found on the way, and they’d cook this amazing dish with the ingredients they’d collected. Even though the name sounds fancy, this dish is very rustic and comforting.
The list of ingredients in this hunters chicken is short, but there is no shortage of taste. The combination of mushrooms, tomatoes with cognac, wine and herbs (like tarragon and parsley) makes for a very complex and beautiful flavor profile.
What ingredients are needed to make French Chicken Chasseur?
Here is your grocery list:
- Chicken pieces, on the bone (I prefer chicken thighs);
- White button, or Baby Bella mushrooms;
- Shallots;
- Chopped tomatoes, or tomato paste;
- Cognac (optional: it will elevate the taste but if you don’t have it or simply don’t want to use it, the chicken will still come out delicious);
- White wine;
- Chicken stock (the French would use “brown chicken stock,” which is one enhanced with some veal stock, but you could use a combination of chicken and beef stock in 2:1 ratio);
- Butter – a critical ingredient in all French cooking.
- Fresh herbs – tarragon and parsley (note: tarragon has a nice, anise type of flavor and it really compliments this hunters chicken, but if you cannot find it, skip it).
How do you make Chicken Chasseur?
There are a couple of different techniques that can be used to prepare this dish. One of them is that everything is done in a single pot; meaning that the chicken is braising with the sauce on a stove top.
Another is that you sear the chicken in a pan on both sides and then cover it and move it to the oven to finish cooking. Then you’d prepare the chasseur sauce separately.
Yet another one and my favorite, is to sear the chicken on both sides, move it to a sheet pan and finish roasting in the oven. This guarantees a crispy skin! While the chicken is roasting you then prepare the hunters sauce.
Some other variations include dusting your chicken with flour. I decided not to do this as I really wanted a nice sear and crispy skin from the oven. Instead, I added some flour to the sauce at the end to thicken it up a bit.
Without further ado here are the easy steps to make French Chicken Chasseur with Crispy Skin…
Step 1: Heat up your oven to 375 F. In order to make Chicken Chasseur with a crispy skin, heat up clarified butter (or a combination of butter with cooking oil) in a cast iron skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and once your pan is hot, add chicken (skin side down) and cook undisturbed for 6-7 minutes, until the skin is nicely browned. Turned the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature shows 165F.
Step 2. Start working on your Chasseur sauce. Once you’ve moved your chicken to the oven, discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet. Add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add chopped shallots and let them sweat for another few minutes.
Step 3: If using, add cognac and either flambe it or let it almost entirely cook off. Add wine and deglaze the pan.
Step 4: Add tomatoes or tomato paste, chicken stock, and let cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 5: If your sauce is too liquidy, combine 1-2 tablespoons of either Wondra flour or all-purpose flour with a 1/2 cup of water, mix well (until smooth) and add to the sauce to thicken it up.
Step 6: Adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed. Once the sauce has the right consistency, turn it off and add 2 tablespoons of cold butter and let it melt into the sauce (Tip: once you’ve added butter, then you cannot reduce the sauce more as the butter would break);
Step 7: Chop tarragon and parsley. Remove the chicken from the oven. Then for serving, you can either put the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle everything with herbs and serve it family style, or you plate the chicken and drench in your sauce, then sprinkle with herbs. See below for suggestions on what to serve the hunter’s chicken with.
How to serve Chicken Chasseur
This classic French chicken pairs really well with:
- Mashed potatoes;
- Egg noodles;
- Rice;
- Crusty Bread or Rolls;
- Potato Cutlets;
- Potato Leek Casserole
It can also be accompanied by some vegetables:
How to store Chicken Chasseur
If you make a big batch of this Chicken Chasseur and you’d like to store it, there is no problem there. This chicken can be placed in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days OR you could freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat it, then remove from the freezer the night before and let it thaw in a fridge overnight.
Equipment Needed to Make French Hunter’s Chicken
- Cast Iron Skillet;
- Sheet Pans;
- Cutting Board;
- Set of Knives;
Other Chicken Recipes to Try:
- Olive Oil Chicken Thighs Mediterranean Style
- Oven Roasted Chicken Legs (Thighs and Drumsticks)
- Baked Mustard Chicken with Clementines
- Tuscan Chicken with Potatoes
- Fennel Chicken Mediterranean Style
- Jacques Peppin Chicken with Garlic and Parsley
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
- One Pot Saffron Chicken and Rice
Chicken Chasseur or Hunter's Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Thighs Bone-In, Skin on
- 2 tbsp Clarified Butter or Light Cooking Oil
- 8 oz Mushrooms White Button or Baby Bella, sliced
- 2 Shallots Medium, chopped
- 1/4 cup Cognac Optional
- 1/2 cup White Wine Dry
- 1/2 cup Chopped Tomatoes Or 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 cups Chicken Stock Or combination of chicken and beef stock in 2:1 ratio
- 2 tbsp Wondra Flour Or All-Purpose Flour - optional if the sauce is not thick enough
- 1 tbsp Fresh Tarragon Chopped
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley Chopped
Instructions
- Heat up your oven to 375 F. In order to make Chicken Chasseur with a crispy skin, heat up clarified butter (or a combination of butter with cooking oil) in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and once your pan is hot, add chicken (skin side down) and cook undisturbed for 6-7 minutes, until the skin is nicely browned.
- Turned the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature shows 165F.
- Once you've moved your chicken to the oven, discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet. Add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add chopped shallots and let them sweat for another few minutes.
- If using, add cognac and either flambe it or let it almost entirely cook-off. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Cook until about 1 tablespoon of liquid is left.
- Add tomatoes or tomato paste, chicken stock, and let cook for about 10-15 minutes.
- If your sauce is too liquidy, combine 1-2 tablespoons of either Wondra flour or all-purpose flour with a 1/2 cup of water, mix well (until smooth) and add to the sauce to thicken it up. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed. Once the sauce has the right consistency, turn it off and add 2 tablespoons of cold butter and let it melt into the sauce (Tip: once you've added butter, then you cannot reduce the sauce more as the butter would break);
- Chop tarragon and parsley. Remove the chicken from the oven. Then for serving, you can either put the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle everything with herbs and serve it family style, or you plate the chicken and drench in your sauce, then sprinkle with herbs. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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I imagine that the sauce with this chicken is to die for! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try. I love the crisp skin on the chicken as well! Yum!
Oh yeah, this sauce is to die for. Super delicious!
So many amazing flavors in this dish, and I love that the skin is left on the chicken. Yum!
Me too. It’s so good 🙂
Oh my goodness, this dish is rivals what you would get at a fancy restaurant. I would love to make this for my husband for a special occasion.
Absolutely, make it and let me know how you liked it 🙂
This looks soo yummy!! I love cooking chicken with the bone in, I feel like it gives so much more taste? Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely, the chicken on a bone gives a lot more flavor! And French cuisine is all about flavor!
My family LOVED this dish!! It was super easy to make and the flavors were amazing!! We will be making this again SOON!
Thanks so much Jennifer. I’m super happy you liked it!
Hi Edyta! Your Chicken Chasseur looks so tempting! I love your photography. Great work!!
Hi Alia! Thank you so much 🙂
Looks amazing !!
I would love to make this ahead for a dinner party and reheating it. Do you think that’s possible ? Spending time in the kitchen while your guests are socializing is no fun.
Hi Bonnie! Absolutely, you can make it ahead of time and then reheat but be careful not to cook it again. Just reheat. I would just place the pan in the 350F oven and heat it up for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is warmed up.
Excellent meal. I made the crispy version. It was fun to prepare and the results outstanding. The guys had 2 thighs each. They kept saying how good it was.
Unfortunately my family are not bone in fans. I’m going to try this tonight but with chicken breast instead. Looks amazing!
I cannot rave about this recipe enough. It came out so good that blew me and everyone I served it to away.
I did edit the recipe slightly for our south Asian tastebuds. For the chicken seasoning I added onion powder, garlic powder and paprika to the salt and pepper. And then to the sauce I added a pinch of crushed red chilli flakes. And of course everything for seasoned well with salt and pepper. Served over a mixture of brown rice and quinoa with free salad (recipe also from this site).
Thank you so much! I’m happy you like this recipe
Absolutely delicious! I made this last night for dinner and Wow! it was good. Wonderful sauce and a very good use for cognac. (Until yesterday I would have said cognac = BBQ starter and I’ve now changed my mind 🙂 Our family has been working through a number of your recipes and we have been enjoying each and every one of them. Thanks!!
This recipe sounds and looks so good, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to make this alcohol free or kid-friendly? I appreciate any feedback, thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it.
The alcohol evaporates while cooking so there is no actual alcohol in the dish. Kids can eat it. In fact, mine love it!
This recipe is wonderful,
French restaurant quality!
Great recipe. Husband loves it. Monthly staple during colder months.
I had some chicken legs I needed to use up in this recipe was perfect. Delicious flavorful sauce and tender chicken! Pair this with a fresh country loaf my wife made an a great white wine. This was so easy to make but tasted like it came from a fancy French restaurant. I ended up finishing the chicken in the sauce while it simmered..
My husband and I loved this recipe! Thank so much for sharing!
This sounds like a great recipe for a slow cooker. Sear your chicken in a cast iron pan. Make the sauce then throw everything in a slow cooker. Let braise on low.
Excellent
I used whole cut up chicken( no flour). Sautéed
Chicken halfway and finished in sauce in the oven
Next time I would sprinkle flour over sautéed mushrooms to help thicken sauce
Delicious 🤤 very simple to make. I might try it next time sans diced tomatoes and substitute artichoke hearts instead. But truly delicious. The key is to really follow the directions and it will come together beautifully. I served it with baked yams which were the consistency of mashed potatoes and a perfect pairing. As well as sautéed zucchini with a little diced onion… crusty French bread 🥖 my husband loved it!