Chicken With Mushroomleek Pan Sauce

A simple pan sauce turns basic chicken into an elegant weeknight dinner.

Chicken is a versatile ingredient, whether it’s a roasted whole bird or pieces fried to crispy perfection. Roasting breasts or legs and topping them with a quick pan sauce is a delicious way to enjoy a weeknight chicken dinner without a lot of fuss.

Selecting Chicken Pieces

There are two kinds of chicken lovers: those who prefer white meat and those who prefer dark. The breasts yield white meat, which can become dry if overcooked. Keep the skin on for best flavour and moisture retention (it can be removed after serving for those who would prefer not to eat it). For dark meat, use thighs or legs. Select pieces that are all roughly the same size for even cooking. Dark meat takes longer to cook so be careful if using a mixture of dark and white meat pieces. The breasts may need to be removed from the oven a few minutes before thighs and legs.

Making a Pan Sauce

Making a pan sauce is very simple and can easily be adapted to individual tastes. Once the chicken has been browned in the pan, any small bits left behind on the bottom of the pan will help build flavour when deglazed with liquid. Beurre manié is often used to thicken sauces. This is a French term meaning ‘kneaded butter’: equal parts of butter and flour are mixed thoroughly together and stirred into the sauce. Vegetable and herb additions to the sauce can be adapted to taste.

Chicken with Mushroom-Leek Pan Sauce

Makes 4 servings

For the Chicken:

4 chicken legs, thighs and/or breasts, bone-in with skin on
½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or tarragon
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
About 3 to 4 Tablespoons of olive or neutral oil – enough to just coat the bottom of a large skillet

For the Pan Sauce:

2 medium to large leeks (white part only), sliced thinly into rings
1-1/2 cups sliced cremini or button mushrooms (sliced about ½” thick), equals about 10 mushrooms
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or tarragon
1-1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably low-sodium
½ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, thyme or tarragon, and garlic powder. Stir together and roll each piece of chicken in the mixture until coated. Shake off any excess and set aside. Discard any leftover flour mixture.
3. In a large, deep skillet or enameled cast iron pot, heat the oil on medium-high. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Let the pieces cook until the skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the pieces over and brown the other side, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a baking sheet. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the juices are no longer pink. Note: thighs and legs will usually take slightly longer to cook than breasts.
5. While the chicken is baking, prepare the pan sauce. Drain all but about two tablespoons of oil from the pan. Return to the burner and add the leeks and mushrooms. Sauté on medium heat until softened, about four minutes.
6. Add the thyme or tarragon and cook for another two minutes. Pour in the stock, wine and mustard. Gently simmer (not a hard boil) for six minutes.
7. While the sauce is simmering, prepare the beurre manié by mixing together the butter and flour until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
8. Stir the beurre manié into the sauce. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken slightly and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the chicken from the oven. Plate over rice, potatoes or pasta and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with fresh thyme or tarragon if desired.