Chicken Fricassee
A stewing hen simmers into tender meat and a rich stock, then the meat is folded into a white sauce thickened with egg yolk and cream, with asparagus and lemon.
The hen first becomes a clear, mild stock and tender pulled meat, while the potatoes can be boiled as the sauce comes together. The carrots get some bite in the white sauce, before the chicken and asparagus are just warmed through, and the dish finishes with a velvety egg-yolk liaison. The crucial detail is to keep the fricassee below the boil once the egg mixture has been stirred in.
Ingredients
The hen and stock
- 2 kg stewing hen, whole
- 3 l cold water
- 1 onion, halved, skin on
- 1 carrot, cut into large pieces
- 1 leek, cut into large pieces
- 200 g celeriac, cut into large cubes
- 4 sprig parsley, stems only
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 2 tsp salt
The fricassee
- 50 g butter
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 3 carrots, sliced 0.5 cm thick
- 1 jar white asparagus, drained, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 dl heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt
- pepper, freshly ground
To serve
- 1 kg potatoes
- 1 tsp salt, for the cooking water
- 1 handful parsley, finely chopped
How to make it
- Rinse the stewing hen inside and out, place it in a large pot, and pour the cold water over it until just covered. Bring it slowly to a boil over medium heat, skimming the gray foam from the surface with a spoon for 20 minutes. Keep going until the liquid is clear and no more foam forms. ⏱ 20 minChef's tip Bringing it up slowly and skimming keeps coagulated proteins from breaking up and clouding the stock. A hard boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and leaves it murky and greasy — a bare shiver at the surface is what you want.
- Add the onion, carrot, leek, celeriac, parsley stems, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the pot, along with the 2 tsp salt. Season only lightly here, since the stock will reduce and grow stronger as it cooks. Cover with a lid and let the hen simmer over low heat for 90-120 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and pulls away from the thighbone without resistance. ⏱ 1 h 30 min–2 h · passiveChef's tip Hold the heat where only a bubble breaks the surface here and there. At a rolling boil the fat emulsifies into the liquid and the stock turns cloudy, and the meat frays apart at the same time and dries out.
- Lift the hen out with two forks and place it on a platter. Let it cool for 20 minutes, until you can handle it with your fingers. ⏱ 20 min · passive
- Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the cooked vegetables. Skim the fat from the surface with a spoon until no more glossy droplets remain. Then measure out 8 dl of the strained stock for the sauce. The rest isn't used in this dish — keep it refrigerated for up to 3 days or freeze it for soup. ⏱ 10 min
- Pull the skin off the cooled hen and pick the meat from the bones into bite-sized pieces. Discard the skin, bones, and cartilage, so only the clean, light meat remains. ⏱ 15 min
- Peel the potatoes and cut the largest ones in half, so all the pieces are roughly the same size and cook tender at the same time. ⏱ 10 min
- Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water, covered, for 20 minutes, until a fork slides easily into the center. Drain the water and let them stand and steam dry in the pot. ⏱ 20 min · passiveChef's tip Letting the drained potatoes steam dry in the hot pot for a minute or two lets surface water evaporate so they don't turn watery under the sauce. The cue is a dry, faintly floury look on the outside.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and sprinkle in the flour while stirring. Cook the roux for 2 minutes, until it's pale, smooth, and foamy — it must not take on color, since the fricassee's sauce needs to stay white.
- Whisk in the measured stock a little at a time, letting the roux turn fully smooth again before the next splash. Let the sauce cook through over low heat for 10 minutes, whisking regularly. It's ready when it flows thick and glossy off the spoon and the raw flour taste is gone. ⏱ 10 minChef's tip Adding stock in small splashes and whisking smooth between each keeps the flour dispersed. Dumped in all at once, the starch swells around lumps and no amount of whisking fully clears them.
- Fold the carrot slices into the sauce and let them simmer along for 8 minutes, stirring regularly, until tender but still with some bite.
- Fold the pulled chicken and the drained asparagus into the sauce and warm everything through over low heat for 4 minutes. Stir only gently, since the asparagus is already tender and will fall apart. The meat should be heated through all the way to the center.Chef's tip The meat is already cooked through and only needs warming. If the sauce comes to a sputtering boil, the fibers contract and squeeze out their juices, leaving the breast meat in particular dry and grainy.
- Whisk the egg yolks and cream together in a small bowl. Take the pot off the heat and whisk a couple of spoonfuls of the hot sauce into the egg mixture to temper it. Then stir the egg mixture back into the fricassee off the heat, until the sauce turns glossy and velvety.Chef's tip Egg yolks set from around 65-70°C, so the pot must be off the heat and the yolks tempered with hot sauce first. Straight into a simmering pot they scramble — you'll see fine grains rather than a smooth sheen.
- Season the fricassee to taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add the lemon juice a little at a time — it should lift the rich sauce, not be clearly tasted.
- Plate the fricassee in deep bowls with the freshly boiled potatoes alongside and the finely chopped parsley sprinkled over top.
