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Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1 hour, plus 24 hours marinating

Yield

Serves 4

Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce

Ingredients

½ cup Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed4 chicken breast halves 2 tablespoons butter 1 ½ cups chicken stock ¼ cup heavy cream

Before You Begin

Jean-Louis Gerin of Restaurant Jean-Louis in Greenwich, Connecticut, serves this sauce with butterflied baby chicken (poussin). The immersion blender transforms all the wonderful tasting (but not-so-wonderful looking) browned mustard bits and pieces into flecks, giving the sauce a smooth, more refined look.

Instructions

  1. Mix Dijon mustard and thyme; coat chicken pieces with this marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  2. Bring chicken to room temperature and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet. Add 2 breasts and cook, skin side down, over medium-high heat, until well browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer breasts to a roasting pan. Repeat cooking process with remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon butter, if necessary. Transfer chicken to the oven; roast until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, add chicken stock to skillet; bring to boil, scraping up any brown bits that have stuck to the pan; simmer until stock reduces to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add cream; return to simmer for 1 minute. Pour sauce into an appropriate container. Submerge an immersion blender and blend until sauce is smooth and frothy. Place a piece of chicken on each of 4 dinner plates. Spoon a portion of sauce over each piece of chicken and serve immediately.
Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce

Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1 hour, plus 24 hours marinating

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

½ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed
4 chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream

Ingredients

½ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed
4 chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream

Ingredients

½ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed
4 chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream

Why This Recipe Works

For this chicken with Dijon mustard sauce recipe, we used the immersion blender to transform all the wonderful tasting (but not-so-wonderful looking) browned mustard bits and pieces into flecks, giving the sauce a smooth, more refined look.

Before You Begin

Jean-Louis Gerin of Restaurant Jean-Louis in Greenwich, Connecticut, serves this sauce with butterflied baby chicken (poussin). The immersion blender transforms all the wonderful tasting (but not-so-wonderful looking) browned mustard bits and pieces into flecks, giving the sauce a smooth, more refined look.

Instructions

  1. Mix Dijon mustard and thyme; coat chicken pieces with this marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  2. Bring chicken to room temperature and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet. Add 2 breasts and cook, skin side down, over medium-high heat, until well browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer breasts to a roasting pan. Repeat cooking process with remaining chicken, adding another tablespoon butter, if necessary. Transfer chicken to the oven; roast until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, add chicken stock to skillet; bring to boil, scraping up any brown bits that have stuck to the pan; simmer until stock reduces to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add cream; return to simmer for 1 minute. Pour sauce into an appropriate container. Submerge an immersion blender and blend until sauce is smooth and frothy. Place a piece of chicken on each of 4 dinner plates. Spoon a portion of sauce over each piece of chicken and serve immediately.

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