Hello friends, so I have had a most busy week. The weekend is finally here, yay! As it's a gorgeous Saturday, I decided to do some gardening. That means I didn't put much thought into dinner today. I bought these gorgeous corn-fed chicken legs yesterday, but was feeling uninspired as to how I wanted to cook them.
My daughter suggested a chicken fricassée, which is on permanent rotation here at home, but I wanted something different. Grabbing what I had to hand, this dish was born. It turned out divine. The sauce is so smooth and velvety, just what I was craving. I made it with hand-cut fried potato chips, but it would be equally as delicious with rice or even pasta.
Most mustard chicken recipes call for dijon, but I am a huge lover of French's American yellow mustard, so that is what I used. It is the best mustard, I put it on everything, lol. The chicken is simmered in the sauce then finished in the oven after being slathered in honey.
Result ?
Crispy sweet skin!
Enjoy xoxo
Creamy Mustard Chicken with Honey and Sage
Serves 4
1 Hour
8 Chicken drumsticks, preferably corn fed
4 tbsp. French's American yellow mustard
2 tbsp. Honey, plus more for later
4 tbsp. Butter, salted or unsalted doesn't matter
4 Cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Bay leaves
3 Sprigs of sage, left whole
1/2 Lemon, juice only
12 Silverskin onions, whole
1000 ml. Chicken Stock, store bought or homemade
200 ml. Heavy cream
Crushed red chilli flakes to taste, optional
A few chunks of smoked bacon, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
To thicken sauce:
2 tbsps. Corn flour/starch
2 tbsps. Cold water
Generously salt the chicken drumsticks.
In a heavy bottomed pot on high heat, add the butter, chicken, onions, and sage.
Brown on all sides.
Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, crushed black pepper, chilli flakes (if using), bacon (if using), mustard, honey and chicken stock. Stir to combine, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Remember to cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C), if in doubt use a thermometer.
When chicken has cooked, remove it to a plate using tongs. Now strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Pick out onions and reserve them. Discard what's left in the sieve. Preheat oven grill to 200°C /390°F
Brush chicken with honey. Place in centre of preheated oven for 10 minutes or until drumsticks are nicely browned and crisp.
Meanwhile...finish the sauce.
Place sauce back into pot and heat on a very low heat. Add heavy cream.
In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch to make a slurry.
In a small bowl, combine egg yolks with a little bit of the hot sauce.
Add both the prepared slurry and tempered egg yolks, to the sauce in pot. Raise heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, while stirring. Sauce will thicken. Do not let it ever come to a boil or it might separate/break. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove chicken from the oven and add to the sauce. Serve immediately with your choice of sauce loving side. Also delicious with asparagus or even some raw baby spinach stirred in.
