Chicken Chasseur — A Hunter’s Braise for Babcia’s Kind of Sunday

Fall hockey league started. Back on the ice after the summer break, and it feels like coming home. Same team, mostly — Pete the firefighter captain, Kevin in the stands, Gary the Buick still hitting like a freight train. A few new guys, a few old guys who aged out. The circle of rec league life. First game was a 3-3 tie. I played well — strong defensively, moved the puck, didn't take any penalties. The enforcer is evolving. I'm still the biggest guy on the team and I still drop gloves when someone crosses the line, but I'm also contributing in other ways now. Setting up plays. Reading the ice. Using my brain instead of just my body. Danny would barely recognize my game. He'd approve, though. He always wanted me to be more than a fighter. At the brewery, we brewed the mushroom stout. The process was unconventional — we added dried porcini and shiitake mushrooms to the mash, like steeping tea, and then a second addition during secondary fermentation. The whole brewing floor smelled like a forest. Marcus said, "This is either your masterpiece or your folly." I said, "What if it's both?" He said, "Then it's definitely a masterpiece." The stout will ferment for four weeks. I'm nervous and excited. This is the weirdest beer I've ever made. It's also the most personal. Babcia's mushroom soup, translated into a pint glass. If it works, it'll be something nobody else has ever done. At home, I made a batch of bigos on Sunday and portioned it into containers for the week. Bigos is the perfect fall meal prep: makes a huge batch, gets better every day, and is hearty enough to fuel long brew days and hockey games. I added Babcia's secret ingredient — red wine — and the result was the closest I've come to hers. Close. Not there. But the gap is narrowing. Babcia's Sunday dinner: she made her duck with plums — kaczka ze śliwkami. It's a special-occasion dish. Nobody asked what the occasion was. Sometimes the occasion is just being together. Sometimes that's enough.

Babcia’s duck with plums is a special-occasion dish I’m not ready to attempt on a Tuesday after a 3-3 tie and four hours on the brew floor — but I needed something that carried the same Sunday-dinner weight, the same smell of something serious happening on the stove. Chicken Chasseur is “hunter’s chicken,” and if you squint, that’s exactly what bigos is — a hunter’s stew, built on patience and layered flavors and the kind of wine you’d also drink while you cooked. The mushrooms seal it: porcini in the mash, shiitake in the fermenter, and now both in the braise — this whole fall is turning into a love letter to fungi.

Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Braised Chicken)

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2.5 lbs total)
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced (or a mix of cremini and shiitake)
• 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1/2 cup warm water (reserve soaking liquid)
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Season and sear. Pat chicken thighs dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear chicken skin-side down for 6–8 minutes until the skin is deep golden and releases easily. Flip and sear 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Sauté the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, then the shallots. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Cook the mushrooms. Add cremini mushrooms in a single layer. Do not stir for the first 2 minutes — let them develop color. Then stir and cook 4–5 minutes until golden. Add the rehydrated porcini (roughly chopped), pouring in the strained soaking liquid and leaving any grit behind.
4. Deglaze. Add white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
5. Build the braise. Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Nestle chicken thighs skin-side up back into the pan, making sure the liquid comes up around (but not over) the skin.
6. Braise low and slow. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially with a lid, and braise for 35–40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender. An instant-read thermometer should read 165°F at the thickest part. If the sauce seems thin, remove chicken and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes to reduce.
7. Finish and serve. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Swirl in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the fresh tarragon. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread, garnished with parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 620mg