Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 lb), cut into 8 pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 8 oz white mushrooms, quartered
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Before you cook

• Pat the chicken pieces dry and season them all over with the salt and pepper.
• Chop the onion and slice the carrots and celery.
• Quarter the mushrooms.
• Whisk the egg yolks and heavy cream together in a small bowl.

Steps

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Cook the chicken pieces skin side down for 6 minutes, until they are pale gold rather than deeply browned, then turn them for 3 minutes more.
3. Move the chicken to a plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat.
4. Add the onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook for 8 minutes, until softened.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes.
6. Pour in the chicken broth while stirring, then add the thyme and bay leaves.
7. Return the chicken and its juices to the pot, cover, and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.
8. Transfer the chicken to a platter and discard the bay leaves.
9. Whisk a ladle of the hot sauce slowly into the cream and yolk mixture to temper it.
10. Pour the tempered cream back into the pot and cook over low heat for 3 minutes without letting it boil, until the sauce thickens.
11. Stir in the lemon juice, taste for salt, and spoon the sauce and vegetables over the chicken with the parsley on top.