Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Skillet
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 pound sliced mushrooms (i used cremini but any will do)
- 1 large clove garlic chopped
- 1 1/2 cups white wine or chicken broth (i used wine...of cour
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dry
- 1/2 cup asiago cheese (or other hard cheese like parmesean
- Carbohydrate 6.99982501587487 g
- Cholesterol 140.206250253798 mg
- Fat 54.1549625818059 g
- Fiber 1.05299998484242 g
- Protein 4.98298751207562 g
- Saturated Fat 30.0087800482586 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (642g)
- Sodium 552.585000898929 mg
- Sugar 5.94682503103245 g
- Trans Fat 3.0479525043147 g
- Calories 522 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil on medium high heat.
- Dredge chicken in seasoned flour and cook in butter/olive oil mixture until golden brown. About 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium add mushrooms and garlic to pan. Saute for a few minutes until mushrooms are slightly limp.
- Add white wine and thyme - scraping up all the bits in the bottom of the pan.
- Add chicken back to pan and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan (yes, one more time!).
- Add cream, asiago, dijon and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add chicken back to pan to reheat and serve!
Deglazing the skillet with white wine directly after sautéing the mushrooms at medium heat is the pivotal moment where fond is released into the liquid, forming the foundational base for the sauce. Acidity from the wine cuts through the richness of the butter and olive oil, balancing the heavy cream added later in the cooking sequence. Dredging chicken thighs in flour seasoned with salt and pepper creates a starch barrier that both browns the meat via the Maillard reaction and thickens the pan sauce as residual starches mingle with the simmering broth. Thyme releases fat-soluble aromatic compounds into the pan fats, infusing the mushrooms and liquids with earthy notes before the dairy components go in. Asiago cheese contributes umami-rich glutamates that meld with the natural glutamates in the cremini mushrooms, reinforcing sapidity throughout the reduction.
Pan Chemistry and Thermal Management
Cast iron or heavy stainless steel pans retain heat efficiently, ensuring the surface temperature does not drop drastically when cold chicken thighs enter the hot oil and butter. If the pan is overcrowded, moisture released by the mushrooms will steam the surface rather than allowing browning to occur, so cook fungi in batches if necessary.
- If the sauce breaks because the heat was too high when adding the cream, whisk in one tablespoon of cold water to re-emulsify the fats.
- Substitute dry vermouth for white wine at a one-to-one ratio if a sharper herbal profile is desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
