2000s Recipes + Menus

Roasted Mustard Tarragon Chicken
Serves4 to 6
- Active time:20 min
- Start to finish:1 3/4 hr
June 2009
Slathering mustard on chicken is one easy way to a juicy, flavorful bird. Like its creator, Ruth Cousineau, this dish revels in simplicity without being austere: Gild the lily by making a delectably creamy, mustardy gravy from the pan juices. The gravy, in turn, begs for mashed potatoes, and by adding a salad—voilà, the perfect Sunday dinner. (Editor’s note: This recipe is solely the creation of Ruth Cousineau and has not been formally tested by the test kitchen.)
Watch the Test Kitchen Challenge video that features this recipe.
Watch the Test Kitchen Challenge video that features this recipe.
- 1 chicken (about 3 1/2 lb)
- 1 bunch tarragon, divided
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
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Equipment:
kitchen string
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Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
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Pull off excess fat around cavities of chicken and discard, then rinse chicken and pat dry. Mix together 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and rub inside cavity. Chop enough tarragon to measure 1 1/2 Tbsp and set aside, then add remainder of bunch to cavity. Put chicken in a flameproof shallow roasting pan or gratin dish and rub all over with 1/3 cup mustard. Tie legs together with string and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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Carefully tilt chicken so juices from cavity run into roasting pan, then transfer chicken to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
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Pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat from pan. Whisk in flour, then cook over medium heat, whisking, 1 minute. Add water, whisking constantly and scraping up brown bits, and bring to a boil. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened, then whisk in cream, remaining Tbsp mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
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Strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids, then stir in reserved chopped tarragon. Serve chicken with sauce.
- Keywords
- web-exclusive recipes,
- poulty,
- ruth cousineau