Delicious Chicken with Mustard, that’s simple enough for weeknights, but special enough for company.
I have mentioned before how much I am enjoying David Lebovitz’s new cookbook and this Chicken with Mustard is one that I have made several times. This one-pot dish is easy enough for weeknights, but special enough for company. I love dishes like that.
I made this with skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs and legs (drumsticks). If you prefer boneless chicken, I suggest picking up bone-in/skin on chicken breasts and just cutting the bone out yourself. Chicken breasts are easy to take off the bone, and at least you’ll get the skin to brown and add flavour. It’s also usually cheaper than buying boneless chicken breasts.
David suggests serving with his Fresh Herb Pasta, that I also made from his cookbook. That would obviously be a great choice, but any cooked pasta would be nice. I also think this dish would be perfect with some creamy mashed potatoes, as the gravy is delicious.
Chicken with Mustard
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs or breasts/drumsticks or mixture
Chicken Marinade:
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika sweet or smoked
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
For the rest:
- 1/2 cup pancetta diced (can use bacon)
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 2 Tbsp grainy mustard
- 2-3 Tbsp creme fraiche or heavy cream
- Fresh thyme, for garnish
Instructions
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Chicken Marinade: Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the marinade mixture, coating well. Set aside.
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Heat a large skillet with a cover (or a Dutch oveover medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until it's just starting to brown. Remove bacon from pan in to a small bowl. Leave about 1 Tbsp. of bacon fat in the pan (or add a bit of olive oil if you used pancetta and there isn't much fat). Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the thyme and let cook for a few minutes more. Remove onion to bowl with bacon.
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Add a bit of olive oil to pan and heat. Add half the chicken to the pan (Don't over-crowd. Cooking in two batches is best). Cook over medium-high heat until browned on one side, then flip over and brown the other side. Remove to a plate and cook the second batch, adding more olive oil, as necessary. Remove this batch to a plate, as well.
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To the hot, empty skillet, add the wine and stir/scrape well to loosen the brown bits on the bottom. Return the chicken, bacon and onions to the pan. Cover and cook over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes, turning the chicken in the sauce a few times during cooking. Test chicken for doneness and cook a few more minutes, if necessary.
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Remove chicken from pan to a serving plate. Stir grainy mustard and creme fraiche or heavy cream in to the sauce and stir just until heated through. (If sauce is too thick, you can thin with a little warm water). Spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with some thyme.
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This dish is nice with pasta or mashed potatoes.
Recipe Notes
Be sure to read the "Cook's Notes" in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!
Adapted from David Lebovitz’s “My Paris Kitchen”
This is absolutely delicious! I used four bone-in, skin on thighs but kept the amount of sauce the same. As some others suggested, I added some chicken broth with the mustard and cream to make more sauce. I used 10 percent cream as that’s what I had and the sauce was delightful. Great with mashed potatoes. Thanks for the recipe, Jennifer!
So glad to hear, Julie :) Thanks!
The mustard burns when I am browning my chicken which makes my sauce taste a little burnt. How do I brown the chicken on med-high and not burn the bottom of my pan?
Hi Audrey, You definitely don’t want burnt mustard, so you can do one of two things – a heavier-bottomed pan or lower the heat. Every pan/stove is a bit different, so if if the instructions aren’t working in your kitchen, you can always adjust as needed.
Hi! Maybe a weird question but what pan is that? brand, size? I love love love it and want one!
Hi Rebecka! Sorry for the delay. I was away for the weekend and had to wait until I got home to confirm which skillet that is. It is a Kitchen Aid Stainless Steel 10-inch skillet. It is part of a set and has a glass lid. I love the Kitchen Aid cookware. Nice and heavy and it has stood up well to everyday use :) Hope that helps!
I have found my new favorite chicken recipe! This is so amazing!!!
Thanks Monica! So glad you enoyed it :)
Hi Jennifer, I wanted to make this dish, but I can’t really understand the proceedings. You wrote that one have to combine all the marinade ingredients and toss the chicken into it, then let it stand for a while, but then you mention in the procedure adding each ingredient separate. Does that mean I have to reclaim the ingredients from the marinade to do so?
Hi Edward, Sorry, I just realized that it could be confusing as written. The marinade is the first 4 ingredients only. I have fixed the recipe to make it more clear. The additional items (bacon, onion, thyme, wine, grainy mustard and creme fraiche are added to the pan later, per the instructions. Hope that helps :)
Hi Edward! It looks like the site style has changed a bit since I first made this recipe, so now the way the ingredients list has been formatted makes it confusing. The marinade is just the first four ingredients (dijon, paprika, salt, pepper). The rest of the items on the list are added throughout the cooking process, as you see in the recipe. Perhaps Jennifer can format it a little differently to separate the marinade from the other items.
Thanks for replying Suze and you’re right. When I switched recipe card thing recently, the spaces disappeared between the sections, so I see why Edward was confused too. I have fixed the recipe to make it more clear. Thanks again!
I Jennifer! The recipe sounds great but I’m not sure what to do with the marinate before cooking. Should I scrap it off or fry the chicken as is? Will you please clarify this issue for me?
Thanks!!!
Hi Gia, You don’t need to scrape it off, just let any excess drip off when you remove the chicken from the marinade and cook with a bit of the marinade on it. Hope that helps.
I’ve made this many times, and my marinade is usually fairly thick, so it wouldn’t necessarily drip. If there’s any extra in the bottom of the bowl, I usually scrape it into the pan at some point, as it all goes towards the final sauce.
Thanks Suze! It’s been so long since I made this dish, it was hard to remember. Which reminds me I need to make this again soon :)
Hi Jennifer, I’m cooking this right now and I must say, it smells and tastes fantastic!
However, I must confess that I added 1/2 cup of chicken stock because I wanted more of the gravy.
So glad Susan and I’ve done that before, too. I love my gravy :)
I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course!) and loved it! Second time I made it I shredded the chicken, stirred the sauce into the chicken and made tacos with a little red onion and avo. Delish! I can’t wait to look around some more. :)
So glad you enjoyed it, Mari and tacos sound delicious!
I’m interested to see what size/brand of pan you prefer to use for dishes like these? I try not to over crowd but the ditch oven I have is too small. And sometimes gravy sauces in my cast iron can have a taste I don’t like. Think I’m probably needing to add a pan to my stash…Curious! Thanks :)
Hi Sarah! The pan shown in this post is a 10-inch Kitchen Aid stainless skillet. I have a whole set of Kitchen Aid stainless. This skillet comes with a glass lid, as well. I also have a 10-inch Le Creuset stainless skillet. Both of these are good quality – nice and heavy. Both of these can go into the oven too, which is always good. 10-inch size is a good size for us, as I’m only cooking for 2 or 3 most of the time. If you’re regularly cooking for more, I’d look at a 12-inch.
As for Dutch ovens, I have two – both 5.5 quart. I have a Le Creuset enamelled cast iron and an Emile Henry one, that isn’t cast iron, but I’m not sure what it’s made of (maybe porcelain?). I like and use them both and find the size just about perfect for most dishes.
We try not to eat complex carbs, so any suggestions of a nice veg side dish that would go well with this? We love all the other ingredients so I’m sure we will enjoy this.
This would be lovely with a cauliflower mash or a parsnip puree Kristi.
Loved the flavours I used turkey bacon and added a bit of chicken stock to make extra sauce for the pasta. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Beverly. So glad you enjoyed it :)
I made the chicken with mustard and it was delicious my husband really enjoyed it.I did not tell him i made it with mustard until after he had eaten it.
this is a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it, Ammie and love your strategy of leaving out the mustard detail ;)
I’m confused about the marinade that is listed in the ingredients list and the chicken is to sit in before cooking. There is no mention of what goes into the marinade. I went through the directions and the process does not use all the ingredients so I thought the left over would make a marinade. 1/3 of a cup of Dijon, salt, pepper, paprika, doesn’t sound like enough liquid to make a marinade.
Can you please explain?
Hi Tracy, The marinade ingredients are a rub that goes on to the chicken before it is cooked. After that, there are additional ingredients added, like wine and more mustard, that finishes the sauce.
Thanks you very much for the answer to my question, will make it as soon I get at my door the grainy mustad you suggested.
I want to make this recipe as soon as possible, looks so good, what kind of white wine should I use? Thanks.
Hi Ellie! Any dry white wine will work – whatever you enjoy drinking :)
I just love all your recipes! Fresh, easy and just soo good!!
Thanks so much, Kim :)
Hi Jenifer ~ Ordered the mustard you recommended via Amazon and just made the dish today…It’s fantastic and a keeper!! Thank you soo much for posting this wonderful dish!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Cynthia! You’ll love having that mustard around – so nice in so many dishes (and of course on sandwiches etc. :)
I tried this recipe on Easter (mainly because I LOVE MUSTARD ANYTHING) and I was absolutely amazed. I love this recipe so much, and I followed it to the letter (Except I didn’t add the bacon back in, my stepdad and I ate it; my mother can’t eat pork.) And I used an “affordable” bottle of chardonnay since the recipe didn’t exactly ask. I loved it so much I’m having it again for dinner TONIGHT! I’m very excited if you can’t tell.
SO glad you enjoyed it, Ashantea!
Thank you sooo much, Jennifer!!
Thanks for posting this delicious looking recipe…can’t wait to try it! I have a question about the grainy mustard…is it dry, powdered form or found in a bottle with like yellow or brown mustards? Thank you for your response :) I’m soo excited to try the recipe…my mouth is watering :)))
Hi Cynthia. Grainy mustard is in a jar, usually found with the other jarred mustards. I love Maille à l’ancienne brand grainy mustard, but any brand with whole mustard seeds will work.
Just reading this make’s my mouth water. Making tonight!
Enjoy Ellie! (one of my favourites :)
My husband and I made this last weekend, so so so good and easy too.
So glad you enjoyed it, Christine! :)
Do you have a recommended mashed potatoes recipe, or will just any do?
Hi Asha, I love Ina Garten’s mashed potato recipes (here’s her “classic” one – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/classic-mashed-potatoes-recipe.html The bit of sour cream in this one is nice. I think the trick to great mashed is making sure the butter/cream is hot when added to hot potatoes :)
This was delicious! I did not change a thing. (Oh wait, no, I had a tiny bit of sour cream leftover that needed to be used. I mixed it with some heavy cream.) Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie :)
I use Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey in place of the wine. Makes the sauce a little sweet and smoky and even more delectable!
Interesting! Must try that Kandyce :)
SO good. Husband is in love with it too. I’ve made it twice, but my sauce doesn’t come out quite as yellow or abundant as what appears in the photo. Any suggestions? Add dijon mustard and more sherry and cream?
Hi Suze. It could just be the mustard you are using. I use Maille. Also, are you using skin-on chicken. The skin adds more liquid. If you already are, you could add a bit of chicken stock, to increase the sauce a bit. Not too much, so you don’t water down the flavours.
I loved cooking this dish! Gourmet cooking made easy
So glad you enjoyed it, Patricia :)
sounds so yummy! Can I use something else instead of white wine?
I really recommend the white wine in this … if you can. If you absolutely can’t, I would just add a bit more chicken broth with a Tablespoon or so of white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, for the acidity.
Loves this! I added mushrooms to add nutrition- sautéed them with the onion
So glad you enjoyed it, Michelle. Mushrooms are a great addition!
can i omit the bacon?
Hi Andrea. Sure, you can omit. It adds a nice flavour layer, but there is still lots of flavour with the mustard and onion.
Sounds amazing! Cannot wait to make, what kind of white wine do you suggest?
Thanks!
Hi Katie, I usually use what we have around, which it typically a dry white – nothing too expensive, but definitely something you’d drink.
I just made this dish and it is absolutely delicious!!! I used 2 chicken breasts bone/skin on and decided to not add the heavy cream to save some calories. I let it cook on low heat for about 45 minutes shredded and it’s perfect. Thank you!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Natalie!
Oh. My. God. Where has this recipe been my whole life?? Made this last night in my large cast iron and it was ridiculously good. Served it with fresh pasta and fresh parsley and basil, similar to what you had suggested. It was the perfect accompaniment with its simplicity and sauce soaking abilities. It’s not an everyday meal (sadly!) as it took me an hour 15 minutes to cook everything (I was following directions pretty carefully) and I don’t even want to begin to think about the fat and calorie content, but it was well worth it all! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jill. I loved the flavours in this dish, but agree, it’s not one for everyday. It wouldn’t be as special then :)
Made this tonight for a special family dinner. As usual with your recipes, it was a big hit! Instant favorite! Thank you so much : )
So glad Amy and thanks so much for coming back to let me know :)
I absolutely love all flavours here and can’t wait to make it. I am always on a lookout for a new chicken recipe. Your photos are stunning and I always struggle with yellow food!
Thanks so much, Julia. Yes, yellow food is always a struggle, for sure! :)
So gorgeous, I have to try this when the weather cools off a bit – the mustard marinade sounds divine!
Thanks Laura. Things have been anything but hot here this summer, but you’ll enjoy this when it’s cooler in your neck of the woods, for sure.
After the way this week started out, this is EXACTLY what I need for dinner right now. A good hearty meal to set me right again! Gorgeous photos!
Thanks so much, Meghan. I was in the mood for a good hearty meal, too and this fit the bill perfectly.
this sounds (and looks!) so delicious! i love braising and i especially love whole grain mustard. pinning this to make this fall when it gets a little cooler in florida!
Thanks Yelle. Good plan! We’ve had a cooler and wetter summer than normal here, so I’ve been cooking more than I usually would :)
This sounds just amazing! So comforting.
Thanks Crystal. Yes, it’s perfect comfort food, for sure.