Julia Child Chicken Fricassee Recipe

Julia Child Chicken Fricassee (Fricassée de Poulet à l’Ancienne) is comfort food at its most elegant – tender chicken in a silky, wine-flavored cream sauce with pearl onions and mushrooms. Julia writes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pages 258-262): “This is a traditional Sunday dinner dish, which is not difficult to execute.”

What exactly is a fricassee? Julia explains it perfectly: “The fricassee is halfway between a sauté and a stew. No liquid is included in the cooking of a sauté. For a stew, the chicken is simmered in liquid from the start. When chicken is fricasseed, the meat is always cooked first in butter until its flesh has swelled and stiffened, then the liquid is added.”

The result is a creamy white sauce that coats the chicken like velvet, enriched with egg yolks and cream. This is not the reddish-brown of Chasseur or the Mediterranean brightness of Provençal – this is pure French elegance in a casserole.

What makes it fricassee? Chicken cooked gently in butter (no browning), then simmered in wine and stock, finished with a cream and egg yolk-enriched sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The ultimate comfort food: Creamy, elegant, deeply satisfying.
• Classic French technique: Learn the fricassee method that’s neither sauté nor stew.
• Make-ahead perfection: Julia says it loses none of its qualities when reheated.
• Complete Sunday dinner: Chicken, sauce, and garnish all in one casserole.
• Three delicious variations: Curry, Paprika, or Tarragon versions included.

Julia Child Chicken Fricassee Ingredients

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, Pages 258-262. Serves 4-6.

For the Chicken:

• 2½-3 lbs cut-up frying chicken
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 4 Tb butter
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp white pepper
• 3 Tb flour
• 3 cups boiling white chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine (or ⅔ cup dry vermouth)
• Herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, ⅓ bay leaf, ⅛ tsp thyme (tied in cheesecloth)

For the Garniture:

• 16-20 pearl onions, braised in butter
• ½ lb fresh mushrooms, stewed in butter, lemon juice, and water

For the Sauce:

• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup whipping cream
• Salt and white pepper
• Drops of lemon juice
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1-2 Tb softened butter (enrichment)
• Fresh parsley sprigs

How To Make Julia Child Chicken Fricassee

1. Dry the Chicken: Pat chicken pieces thoroughly dry with a towel. This is essential.
2. Cook the Vegetables: In a heavy casserole, cook onion, carrot, and celery slowly in butter for 5 minutes until almost tender but not browned. Push to one side.
3. Cook the Chicken (No Browning): Raise heat slightly. Add chicken and turn every minute for 3-4 minutes until the meat stiffens slightly, without browning more than a light golden yellow.
4. Sweat the Chicken: Lower heat, cover, and cook very slowly for 10 minutes, turning once. The chicken should swell and stiffen but not deepen in color.
5. Add the Flour: Sprinkle salt, pepper, and flour on all sides of the chicken, turning to coat with butter. Cover and cook slowly for 4 more minutes, turning once.
6. Add Liquid: Remove from heat. Pour in boiling stock, shaking casserole to blend. Add wine and herb bouquet. Liquid should just cover chicken. Bring to simmer. Taste and adjust salt.
7. Simmer: Cover and simmer slowly for 25-30 minutes. Chicken is done when drumsticks are tender and juices run clear yellow. Remove chicken to a side dish.
8. Prepare Garniture: While chicken simmers, braise the pearl onions and stew the mushrooms. Add their cooking juices to the sauce.
9. Reduce the Sauce: Simmer cooking liquid 2-3 minutes, skimming fat. Boil rapidly, stirring, until sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon. You should have 2-2½ cups.
10. Enrich with Cream and Eggs: In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and cream. Slowly whisk in hot sauce by tablespoonfuls until about a cup has gone in. Then add the rest in a thin stream.
11. Finish the Sauce: Pour sauce back into casserole (not aluminum). Stir over moderately high heat until sauce comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
12. Season and Strain: Add lemon juice, nutmeg, and adjust seasoning. Strain through a fine sieve.
13. Assemble: Arrange chicken with onion and mushroom garniture in casserole. Pour sauce over all.
14. Rest or Serve: To hold, spoon a film of cream over sauce to prevent skin. When ready, reheat gently, then swirl in butter just before serving.

Recipe Tips

• Use frying chicken. Julia warns that broilers are too soft and will become stringy. Roasting chicken needs 35-45 minutes simmering.
• No browning for white sauce. The gentle cooking keeps the sauce pale and creamy.
• Temper the eggs carefully. Add hot sauce slowly to egg mixture to avoid scrambling.
• Don’t use aluminum. After adding egg yolks, use only enameled or stainless steel.
• This reheats beautifully. Julia says it loses none of its essential qualities when cooled and reheated.
• Strain the sauce. This gives you the silky, elegant texture that defines great fricassee.

Recipe Variations

Curry Sauce (Fricassée à l’Indienne): After the 5-minute preliminary cooking in butter, blend in 1-2 Tb curry powder. Cover and proceed with the recipe.

Paprika Sauce (Fricassée au Paprika): After preliminary cooking, blend in 1½ Tb fresh paprika. The finished sauce should be a creamy pink. Add more paprika at the end if needed.

Tarragon Sauce (Fricassée à l’Estragon): Add 4-5 sprigs fresh tarragon to the simmering liquid. Stir 2 Tb fresh minced tarragon into the finished sauce.

Fricassee vs Other French Chicken Dishes

Dish	Sauce	Cooking Method
Chicken Fricassee	Creamy white (egg/cream)	Butter first, then simmer in liquid
Chicken Chasseur	Reddish-brown (tomato/mushroom)	Brown, then braise
Chicken Provençal	Red-orange (tomato/olive)	Brown, then braise
Coq au Vin	Purple-brown (red wine)	Brown, then braise

What To Serve With Julia Child Chicken Fricassee

Julia’s suggestions:

• Steamed rice or risotto
• Buttered egg noodles
• Buttered peas or asparagus tips as garnish

Wine: A chilled, fairly full-bodied white Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône, or Bordeaux-Graves.

Make-Ahead Tips

Up to 1 Day Ahead:

• Complete the entire recipe through step 13
• Spoon a film of cream over sauce to prevent skin forming
• Refrigerate uncovered, then cover once cooled

To Serve:

• Reheat gently over moderate heat until simmering
• Cover and simmer 5 minutes until chicken is hot through
• Swirl in butter just before serving

Julia’s Note: “This technique is ideal for ahead-of-time dishes, as the chicken loses none of its essential qualities if it is allowed to cool in its sauce and is then reheated.”

How To Store

Refrigerator: Airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheats beautifully.

Freezer: Up to 2 months. Note that egg-enriched sauces may separate slightly upon thawing – whisk well when reheating.

Reheat: Gently on stovetop, stirring frequently. Add a splash of cream if sauce has thickened.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (1/6 of recipe):

• Calories: 450 kcal
• Protein: 32g
• Total Fat: 28g
• Saturated Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 14g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 4g
• Sodium: 580mg
• Cholesterol: 195mg

FAQs

Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 by Julia Child, Pages 258-262

– Claire