This recipe for Chicken in Mustard Sauce relies on the remnants of a bottle of mustard, combining it with cream, and shathering chicken breasts with the result.
Chicken in Mustard Sauce
Course: Dinner4
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt
1 “empty” bottle of Inglehoffer spicy brown mustard. See notes.
1 cup chicken stock, warmed but not hot
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup of sweetened, stiffly-whipped cream
Dash of Worchestershire
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Heat a 12-inch, cast-iron skillet over medium heat, 2 minutes. Meanwhile, dry the chicken with paper towels. Raise the heat to high and wait 1 minute. Add oil to the hot pan, then lay in the breasts. Cover with a spatter screen and cook until well browned, 7-10 minutes. Salt the breasts just shy of generously, flip them, insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of the thickest breast, and place them in the oven.
- Meanwhile, pour enough stock into the mustard bottle to fill it half-way. Screw on the lid and shake. Pour the liquid into a two-cup measure. Add more stock to the bottle, again filling it half-way, shake, and pour into the measuring cup. Add remaining stock to the measuring cup. Stir in thyme. Wash and recycle the bottle. Set the mustard mixture aside.
- Remove the chicken from the oven once it reaches desired temperature. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. Pour the mustard mixture into the pan, and bring it to a rolling boil over very high heat. Boil the sauce down until looks as thick as scrambled eggs that are just beginning to show signs of setting. Turn heat to lowest setting. Add cream and Worchestershire, stir to incorporate, then taste for seasoning. Off heat. Lay the chicken back into the pan, turn to coat in sauce.
Notes
- For this recipe, you’ll need a squeeze-bottle bottle of mustard that’s “empty,” in the sense that it’s too hard to get any more to squeeze out of it, but of you course you can see that there’s a still a good bit of mustard left in it. So you’ve been storing the bottle upside down, hoping to make it easier to get the last bit to come out when you want it. You keep hammering the bottle on the countertop, trying to shake the last bit toward the mouth of the jar so you can squeeze it out. Have more onhand just in case you feel you need it.
Intro
This sauce is deliriously delicious. It’s intense and flavorful. To think that it was done in the name of frugality!
Social Learning
The thicker the breasts, and the more space they take up in your pan, the longer they’ll take to brown.
I have no idea how much mustard you’ll be starting out with, since I didn’t give you a measurement. There were at least two generous tablespoons in my bottle. But no worries. If you have extra onhand, you can stir it in at the very end, when you’re tasting for seasoning. “But what if my bottle has too much,” is not a question you should ask.
Why hand-whipped, sweetened cream? I happened to have it onhand. Doesn’t everyone? The sauce didn’t come out sweet whatsoever. I think the sugar just takes the edge of the mustard. Had I not had sweetened whipped cream, I would probably have added 1/4- to 1/3-cup heavy cream, and then honey to taste. The whipped cream gives the sauce a beautiful texture, though, if you don’t work it too hard after adding it.
The leftovers, I fridged and eventually sliced up and added to a salad. Try it!
The Backstory
In some cookbook somewhere – maybe it was Julia Child – I read that every French housewife knows to use up the remnants of a mustard jar by adding a bit of oil and vinegar, shaking it up, and pouring it on a salad. Well, I’m not going to bested by some French housewife.
Chicken in Mustard Sauce
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voilaaaa une préparation bien délicieuse , bravooooooooo a toi , belle journée bizzzzzzzzzz
Thank you, Betty!
Cette sauce est un vrai délice
Merci
You’re welcome, Delphine!
No French housewife could ever best you, Jeff. This sounds amazing. And a great way to get the best out of a squeeze bottle of mustard.
Thank you, David!
Mi piace molto la senape con la carne, un pollo deliziosso!!!
Me too. Thanks!
Delicious! And a good lesson to never throw bottles away!
Thanks, Mimi!
The sauce sounds and looks really great!
Thanks, Angie!
Looks delicious! I’m also guessing that anyone lucky enough to be at your house over this long weekend was treated a good meal or two. 🙂
Well, it was a very quiet weekend, but we definitely ate well!
Thanks for this, Jeff, and the visual imagery of trying to get the last mustard from the sides of the bottle. I envision a sharp knife being taken to the bottle to open it up and a spoon to scrape the sides of the remnants of precious mustard…
Ah! I’ve never considered that approach! I love it!
Perfect timing. I have an almost empty bottle of spicy brown mustard. Now I just need to wait a couple of sandwiches from now.
Mmm, yes!
Those French housewives have nothing on you, Jeff! I loved the last little bit of mustard approach here. All jokes aside, this chicken does sound quite delicious. Definitely worth making soon!
Thank you, David!
I think it’s a great idea to coat the breasts with the resulting sauce.
All the best.
Thank you, Emma!
The sauce sounds very interesting.
I’ve never made a French mustard sauce, but I did Just return from Paris where (being vegetarian) ate mostly Asian food. I did have French Crepes which were gluten free made from buckwheat. C’est La Vie !!
Buckwheat crepes are the best! I hope you had a great trip!
I love the combination of chicken and mustard – such a simple yet pronounced flavour profile. But sweetened cream? That’s interesting! I love adding sweetness to chicken myself (e.g. maple, honey), but I wouldn’t thought of using sweetened cream. Great idea!
Thank you, Ben. It was a happy, weird coincidence!
I like chiken, I like mustard sauce so it´s a perfect recipe for me. Besitos.
Thanks, Mari!
Love this! Using up the last bit of mustard is so fun. And, the sauce sounds delicious.
Thanks, Lisa!
This reminds me of a recipe I used to make using apple cider, mustard and cream, so I know exactly what you mean. Definitely going to give this a try.
Thank you, Eva!
Jeff, those French housewives got nothing on you! I have made mental note about using the remnants of the mustard . I think it’s a clever idea!
I think mustard sauce is ideal for chicken-its tangy, tiny bit sweet all the right ingredients. Your dish is lovely.
Thanks, Velva!
I think that you may find that those French housewives won’t mind relinquishing the title holder for best use of that last bit of mustard once they create and taste your chicken dish.
Haha! Thank you, Karen!
I do that a lot on empty bottles, I even put a bit of water to dilute everything and make it easy to flow out.
Perfect!
the only thing that confuses me here Jeff is the sweetened cream! I think I would go for unsweetened 🙂
cheers
sherry
I know. My first thought was to make a honey mustard, and then add cream, but the only cream I had onhand I had already sweetened and whipped for a dessert I’d made the night before. So I decided to try it, and it turned out great.