Chicken in tarragon sauce from Essential Pépin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food (page 262) by Jacques Pépin

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Notes about this recipe

  • Delys77 on November 23, 2022

    We lightened this up a bit by using half and Half and it split during the reduction. I think you have to go with the full fat cream, or reduce the broth and then add the half and half just at the end. Overall not bad flavour from relatively little effort. The poaching method does result in moist chicken but I cooked for about 17 minutes and they could have had a few more minutes. Overall nice and easy, but not likely a repeat for us.

  • ashallen on December 28, 2020

    This was a relatively quick and easy "one pot" dish and we enjoyed the flavors of the creamy tarragon sauce with the chicken. I didn't care for the texture of the chicken, however - by the time the thickest parts reached 160-165F, the thinner parts were overcooked and tougher than I prefer. I used the 7 oz breasts and liquid quantities specified in the recipe and cooked over medium/medium-low heat for 15 minutes, flipping the chicken cutlets periodically, hoping that the slightly longer cooking time would result in more even cooking. Based on TrishCP's and Breadcrumbs' notes, it sounds like adding more stock would have been the better approach! Since my husband prefers this type of sauce to be smooth, I strained the solids from the cooking liquid - worked well and the sauce was still delicious.

  • TrishaCP on March 28, 2012

    A beautiful delicately flavored chicken dish- the tarragon flavor isn't too strong for those that are only "iffy" about its flavors. (And for those that love tarragon, you may want to go a bit stronger.) I served with roasted potatoes and a salad. I followed Breadcrumb's lead and added additional chicken stock since I also had fat chicken breasts that needed covering, and that amendment works well. A final note- before the cream and tarragon are added, the poaching liquid tastes very bitter- but don't let that throw you, all will be well in the end.

  • Breadcrumbs on January 08, 2012

    p. 262 - I added about 3/4 cup of chicken stock in addition to JP’s suggested poaching ingredients to ensure my plump (chicken) breasts cooked properly. This also meant I needed to spend a little more time reducing the cooking liquid to 1 cup however the flavours of the broth concentrated nicely and the splash of cream was just enough to take the somewhat bitter edge off the vermouth-infused stock and, soften all the flavours. We really enjoyed this dish and the gentle tarragon infused cream sauce over the tender chicken that really impressed us. A very nice dish indeed.

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