Chicken supreme with a supreme sauce is so decadent and delicious.
This retro classical French dish is full of the delicious flavour of skin-on chicken, bacon, mushrooms, white wine, cream and tarragon.
Creamy, dreamy and perfect for entertaining or a quiet meal for two, this dish is also easy to do with only a little preparation.
It's all done in the same pan, so it makes entertaining a stress-free experience and the cleaning up is a doddle.
To make it simple, there are step by step instructions too!
Bon appétit!
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Chicken seems to be by far the most popular meat to prepare and cook and you might be forgiven for getting a bit fed up with the same old recipes. So let's go back to a traditional French dish, based on classical cooking, that you may not have had before.
This is such a comfort dish, and a particular favourite of my husband, who loves all the variations too. The fact that it is easy and can be made in one pan on the hob means that you only really need a side dish, such as potatoes Parisienne, and dinner is done.
There's also plenty of sauce, for dunking the potatoes or vegetables, so no need for another pan either.
In fact, if you have all the ingredients to hand, your chicken supreme can be on the table in 30 minutes. After all, you only need to peel the garlic and shallots and you are ready to cook!
❤️ Why you will love this dish
- Ready in 30 minutes.
- Easy and impressive entertaining idea.
- Quick clean up after cooking.
- Versatile supreme sauce that can be served with other meats.
- Totally delicious!
A chicken supreme, or suprême de volaille, is actually a cut of meat from poultry or a game bird, where the breast bone is removed but the skin remains intact. If the wing piece is still attached then it becomes a cutlet or côtelette de volaille.
Supreme sauce is a daughter sauce of the French mother sauce known as velouté. A velouté sauce is made with stock thickened with a roux, which is a mixture of butter and flour. The supreme element is the addition of cream to make it a much richer sauce.
Traditionally, this sauce didn't have mushrooms and bacon included in the ingredients, but gradually they have become more common over the years.
The sauce can be served with other meat dishes including fish and vegetables.
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🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken - 2 large chicken cutlets, boneless and skin on or 4 medium chicken breasts.
- Olive oil - regular olive oil not extra virgin.
- Butter - salted or unsalted, but reduce the salt used to taste if you are using salted butter.
- Shallots - if you can get them then banana or long shallots are easier to peel.
- Bacon - ready cut smoked bacon lardons or other smoked bacon pieces.
- Garlic - fresh cloves.
- Mushrooms - button mushrooms look beautiful in the sauce and there is no chopping either.
- Tarragon - chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried.
- Stock - chicken stock or vegetable stock.
- Wine - dry white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc.
- Mustard - use Dijon mustard for its distinct flavour.
- Cream - double or heavy cream.
- Flour - plain or all purpose flour for the roux.
- Salt - flaked sea salt.
- Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.
🍽 Equipment
- Large deep frying pan or skillet
- Wooden spoon
- Tongs
- Slotted spoon
- Sharp knife
- Garlic crusher - optional
🔪 Instructions
Peel and chop the shallots.
⏲️ Cooking Time
Put the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add half of the butter and tip in the mushrooms and lardons for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Peel and crush the garlic and add it to the pan, stirring for 1 minute.
💭 Top tip
- Cooking the garlic removes its bitter flavour and brings out the sweetness but garlic tends to burn very quickly, so always cook for a minute when frying.
Remove the mushroom mix from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and season all over with the salt and pepper.
Add the remaining butter to the pan and place the chicken in, skin side down.
Cook for about 10 minutes until the skin is really crisp and golden then turn over and cook for a further 5 minutes.
The chicken should be just cooked by now. Use a skewer to check if the juices are running clear. If not, let them cook for a few minutes longer.
Add the flour to the pan and use a wooden spoon to stir into the buttery juices for 1 minute.
Pour in the wine and cook for a minute then stir in the stock and tarragon.
The mixture should start to thicken as it comes to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer before adding the cream.
Return the mushroom mixture to the pan and stir the sauce well to combine.
Check the seasoning before serving.
For presentation, I like to serve the sauce in a dish with the chicken breasts placed skin side up. If you have any extra chopped tarragon sprinkle it over the top.
Carve each breast into 2 portions and serve with the sauce.
Delicious!
🥗 Side dishes
I think that a lovely crispy potato dish goes well with this chicken so why not try a few of my favourite side dishes? They are perfect for dipping in that creamy sauce!
- Crispy Potatoes Pavé
- Fondant Potatoes
- Parmentier Potatoes
- Roast Potatoes
- Confit Potatoes
- Sarladaise Potatoes
- Potatoes Parisienne
- Chateau Potatoes
- Potatoes Rissolé
- Duchess Potatoes
These vegetable side dishes would be perfect too.
- Honey Mustard Carrots
- Roasted Courgettes
- Cavolo Nero Kale with Lemon and Butter
- Roasted Root Vegetables
- Roast Savoy Cabbage
- Green Beans Almondine
- French Peas
🥙 Substitutions
- Chicken - use skinless chicken breast or turkey breasts cut into pieces instead if you prefer. Keep in mind that without the skin and with different thickness, you will need to vary the cooking time.
- Mushrooms - use white mushrooms and cut them into quarters.
- Bacon - use sliced bacon and cut into small pieces or cubed pancetta if you can't get lardons.
📖 Variations
- Bacon - try diced Spanish chorizo sausage for a spicier flavour.
- Wine - use 2 tablespoons of brandy or cognac if you prefer or leave the alcohol out all together and replace with an equal amount of stock.
- Vegetables - use pearl onions or small shallots in place of, or in addition to the mushrooms.
- Tarragon - use parsley or thyme instead.
🍣 Storage
- Refrigerator - cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Freezer - leftover cooked chicken can be frozen for up to 2 months. I would not recommend freezing the sauce as it is likely to separate.
- Reheat - use leftover chicken in stir fries or curries or wrap in foil and place in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 until hot.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- It's possible to make the sauce in advance and reheat over a low heat before serving but I think it is better to make this dish fresh.
Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais
More chicken recipes to try
📋 Recipe
Chicken Supreme with Supreme Sauce
Equipment
- large deep frying pan or skillet
- wooden spoon
- tongs
- slotted spoon
- sharp knife
- garlic crusher - optional
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts skin on or 2 large chicken cutlets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt flaked sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground black pepper
- 2 shallots peeled and finely chopped
- 100 g bacon smoked bacon lardons
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 tablespoon flour plain or all purpose
- 100 ml white wine fry
- 100 ml chicken stock
- 300 ml double cream heavy
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon tarragon fresh, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
- 200 g mushrooms button
Instructions
- Put the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook the shallots for about 5 minutes until soft.
- Add half of the butter and tip in the mushrooms and lardons for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Peel and crush the garlic and add it to the pan, stirring for 1 minute.
- Remove the mushroom mix from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
- Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and season all over with the salt and pepper.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and place the chicken in, skin side down.
- Cook for about 10 minutes until the skin is really crisp and golden then turn over and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the flour to the pan and use a wooden spoon to stir into the buttery juices for 1 minute.
- Pour in the wine and cook for a minute then stir in the stock and tarragon.
- The mixture should start to thicken as it comes to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer before adding the cream and mustard.
- Return the mushroom mixture to the pan and stir the sauce well to combine.
- Check the seasoning before serving.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
More poultry recipes
🍲 Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.
However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.
However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.
Amanda
Hi Rachyl. Thanks for letting me know. The Dijon is added with the cream and I've updated the recipe card. Thanks, Amanda
Rachyl Schulte
When do you use the Dijon?
Gina
The sauce is insanely flavorful! Love this it gives me a (small) excuse to use up the copious amounts of tarragon I still have in the garden too!
Tavo
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I made the recipe yesterday and it was a hit! Everyone in the family loved it! Thank you!
Lima Ekram
I just made it - it was amazing! I especially loved the flavor combination of bacon, cream and tarragon!
Savita
This looks like perfect comfort food. Can't wait to try it.
Heather Perine
I've never made this classic dish, but it's got all the things I Love in one! Can't wait to make for dinner 🙂
Jessica Stroup
Such a delicious comforting recipe! Thanks for sharing this one! So good!
Seema Sriram
These tips and variations are such a great value add to this beautiful post. I am sure it will help any beginner to nail this recipe.
Qashang
Ah this looks incredibly delicious!
Dannii
I grew up eating this and it is total comfort food.