Chicken in Parmesan Cream Sauce

This is bistro cooking at its most satisfying. Cut-up chicken pieces get a hard sear in oil until the skin crackles, then finish in the pan with a partial cover so the meat braises tender while the skin stays crisp. Meanwhile, a proper mornay sauce builds in a separate pan, with parmesan melted into a butter-flour-half-and-half base and finished with beaten egg yolks for restaurant-style silkiness.

The egg yolks tempered into the hot sauce are what give this its signature richness. Skip them and you have a perfectly fine cream sauce. Add them properly and you have something that tastes like a wine bar in Lyon.

The final move is the broiled crust. A sprinkle of breadcrumbs and more parmesan goes over the chicken before a quick blast under the broiler, giving you a golden, crackling top.

Chef Tips

• Pat the chicken pieces completely dry before seasoning. Wet chicken steams in the pan and never crisps.
• Brown the chicken skin-side down without moving it for the first 8 to 10 minutes. Letting the skin do its job is what creates that golden, crispy result.
• Temper the egg yolks properly. Whisk a few tablespoons of hot sauce into the beaten yolks first, then return the warmed yolks to the pan. Pour cold yolks straight in and they scramble instantly.
• Watch the broiler step like a hawk. Breadcrumbs go from golden to burnt in 30 seconds.
• Use real Parmigiano-Reggiano if you can afford it. Generic parmesan tastes one-note in a sauce this delicate.

Variations

• Mushroom-loaded: saute sliced cremini mushrooms with the chicken and stir them into the sauce.
• Sherry-finished: stir 2 tablespoons of dry sherry into the cream sauce just before adding the yolks.
• Gruyere swap: replace half the parmesan with grated Gruyere for a deeper Alpine cheese flavor.