French Chicken with Roquefort & Garlic

Bacon-wrapped chicken braised with garlic and onions, finished with a Roquefort sauce built from the pan drippings. This is rustic French cooking at its most indulgent, and every step builds on the one before it.

Wrapping the skinless chicken in bacon serves two purposes: it bastes the meat with fat as it cooks so it doesn’t dry out, and it adds smoky, salty flavor that stands up to the pungent blue cheese sauce. Searing the wrapped pieces in garlic-infused olive oil before they go into the oven creates a golden crust that holds up through the braise.

The Roquefort sauce is where this really comes together. Garlic puree warmed gently in olive oil, a crumbled wedge of Roquefort stirred in until melted, and the defatted pan juices from the chicken folded through. It’s rich, funky, and sharp all at once.

Pro Tips

• Don’t brown the garlic cloves when infusing the oil. You want a mellow garlic flavor, not a bitter, burnt one. Low and slow for a minute or two.
• Secure the bacon with toothpicks tightly. Loose bacon unravels during searing and won’t crisp properly.
• Skim the fat from the pan juices before adding them to the sauce. The Roquefort is already rich enough.
• Use real Roquefort, not generic blue cheese. The sheep’s milk flavor is sharper and more complex.

Variations

• Swap Roquefort for Gorgonzola dolce for a milder, creamier blue cheese sauce.
• Add a splash of brandy or Cognac instead of malt liquor for a more traditional French flavor.
• Serve over mashed potatoes to catch every drop of the sauce.