Name: Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce
Total time: 1 d 1 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: French, Europe
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed; 4 chicken breast halves; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 1/2 cups chicken stock; 1/4 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

Mix Dijon mustard and thyme; coat chicken pieces with this marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

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.

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.