Chicken Breasts with Morel Mushroom Sauce
Chicken breast recipes have become a staple in my house. They are really easy to cook, and very versatile, going well with so many other ingredients. For this recipe, I show you how to make a chicken breast with a morel mushroom sauce. Morel’s are perhaps my favorite mushroom. But they are wild, and can be hard to find. If you can’t find them, go ahead and use whatever looks good in the store. A touch of cream and you’ve got a great sauce for this simple chicken dish. Enjoy!
Recipe Overview & Keys to Success
To make the best Chicken with Morel Mushroom sauce, just make sure to do the following:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cook very quickly, and then dry out. So I prefer to pound them out to even thickness, and cook them very quickly over high heat.
- Under cooked, morels (or really any mushroom) are not a favorite of mine, so I like to cook them until almost all the moisture is out, and mushrooms have a slightly chewy texture
- As you cooking the various ingredients, be careful of the heat in the pan, as if it goes too hot, you can blacken the bits on the bottom of the pan; instead of keeping it nice and brown
- Cream sauces can thicken very quickly, so don’t be shy about adding a bit of water, or even more cream to thin it, if you happen to over reduce the sauce.
- 2 boneless skiness chicken breasts
- 1 cup of course chopped morel mushrooms
- 1 finely diced shallot
- ¼ cup madeira wine
- ¼ cup of chicken stock
- ¼ cup of cream
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Heat a large enough sauté pan over medium high heat and coat the bottom with olive oil
- Add the morel mushrooms and season with salt and pepper
- Toss, and cook over medium heat until the water in the mushrooms has evaporated, they are slightly browned, and have a semi-firm texture
- Remove to a holding bowl
- While the morels cook, dry the chicken with a paper down, and gently pound them out to even thickness
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper
- Add a bit more olive oil to the pan, over medium heat, and lay in the chicken
- Sear on one side for 3 – 4 minutes, then flip and repeat until the chicken is just cooked through, about another 3 – 4 minutes over medium high heat
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pan to a holding plate or barely warm (200 degrees) oven
- If needed, add a bit more olive oil, and then the shallots; cook for about a minute
- Add the wine to deglaze the pan, and reduce by half
- Add the chicken stock, and again reduce by half
- Add the cream, and reduce until you reach a sauce consistency
- Add the mushrooms back to the pan, and heat for a minute.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed
- Plate the chicken, and spoon a generous portion of the mushroom sauce right over the top
I recommend going with a Pinot Noir with this chicken dish. Mushrooms and Pinot are a great match together and the bit of fat in the cream sauce will help to smooth out and tannin’s that happen to be in the wine. The flavors in a Pinot will stand up well to the strong flavors in the sauce without over powering them. Enjoy!
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