Chicken chasseur
Rustic French chicken braised in a glossy tomato, mushroom and red-wine sauce, finished with parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Coq chasseur — or chicken chasseur — is the sort of French dish that makes you think someone’s been feeding the family for generations. It’s rustic, forgiving and rewards a little browning and a long, gentle braise.
Make this when you want comfort without faffing: crisped chicken skin, earthy mushrooms and a tomato–red wine sauce that’s brightened with lemon and parsley. Perfect for a midweek supper or a weekend dinner with mashed potato or buttered new potatoes to mop up every drop.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs
- 35 g plain flour — for dusting
- 10 ml fine sea salt
- 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
- 40 ml olive oil
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 brown onion — finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves — crushed
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms — halved or thickly sliced
- 400 g tinned plum tomatoes — crushed by hand
- 150 ml red wine — dry
- 250 ml chicken stock — hot
- 15 ml tomato purée
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 ml caster sugar — optional, balances acidity
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley — roughly chopped
- 1 fresh lemon — juice to finish
Instructions
Pat the chicken thighs dry with kitchen paper, season all over with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lightly dust each thigh in the plain flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat the olive oil and half the unsalted butter in a large frying pan over medium–high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken skin-side down (work in two batches if necessary) and cook without moving until deeply golden, about 8 minutes.
Turn the thighs and cook the second side for about 6 minutes until browned. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter. Add the brown onion and cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chestnut mushrooms and cook for a further 4–5 minutes until the mushrooms are browned and their liquid has reduced.
Pour in the red wine, increase the heat and scrape the browned bits from the base of the pan. Let the wine bubble and reduce by about half, roughly 3 minutes.
Stir in the tinned plum tomatoes, chicken stock and tomato purée. Add the fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaf and caster sugar. Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up, nestling the thighs into the sauce.
Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium; simmer uncovered for 5–8 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce to a glossy consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Stir in the juice of half a fresh lemon and most of the chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, then turn off the heat. Leave the chicken to rest in the pan for 10 minutes so the juices redistribute and the sauce settles.
Serve the thighs spooned with plenty of sauce, scattered with the remaining parsley and an extra squeeze of lemon if liked.
Tips
- Dry the chicken thoroughly before dusting with flour — wet skin will steam and won’t crisp properly.
- If you don’t have time to brown all pieces at once, do batches and keep the first batch on a warm plate; return to the pan to finish cooking in the sauce.
- To make the sauce extra glossy, skim any excess fat after cooking and reduce uncovered until it just coats a spoon.
- Make ahead: the dish tastes even better the next day. Reheat gently on the hob and add a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days; cool quickly and store in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Substitutions
chicken thighs → bone-in chicken breasts (use the same weight). The texture will be leaner and needs slightly less braising time — watch for dryness.
Noticeably differentplain flour → cornflour, 20 g, mixed with a little water to a paste and stirred in at the end to thicken the sauce.
Stays closered wine → extra chicken stock plus 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, to keep acidity. The flavour will be less rounded.
Noticeably differentunsalted butter → use extra olive oil for a dairy-free option; sauce will be slightly less silky.
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 660
- Calories
- 40 g
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
- Sugar
- 700 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this in the oven?
Yes — after step 6 transfer everything to an ovenproof dish, cover and braise at 160°C fan/180°C conventional for 30–35 minutes until tender.
How do I tell the chicken is cooked?
Thighs are safely cooked when the juices run clear and an internal temperature of 75°C is reached. Bone-in thighs are forgiving — they’re done when tender and the meat pulls from the bone easily.
Can I use chestnut mushrooms substitutes?
Yes — common button mushrooms or a mix of field and chestnut mushrooms work well. Wild mushrooms add flavour but will change the cost and intensity.
Can I reduce the sauce faster?
Yes — remove the lid and simmer over a slightly higher heat, stirring, until it reduces. Watch carefully so it doesn’t catch on the pan base.
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