Chicken in Mustard Sauce

Adding to suggestions by others I floured the chicken first, removed the breasts and cooked off the onion and some sliced mushrooms (and a few cloves of minced garlic near the end) before deglazing pan with white wine. Used chicken broth instead of water and added a sprinkling of herbes de Provence. A splash of lemon juice and parsley at the end. My husband, who saves praise for when due, declared it the best chicken he'd ever had.

It's not too surprising that many commentors are not too excited about this recipe. There are many ways to take this from 'meh' to gourmet. Water? Add broth, white wine, and/or lemon juice, a sprig or 2 of thyme. Use a whisk for the mustard. Don't pound? Don't be too upset that the skinny tip is tough as nails. Brown the 'public side' of the breast; lightly do the bottom. Remove while you make the sauce; return on bottom side to finish. 10-15 min? - Sacre bleu! Try 3-4. Add parsley to garnish.

For the small number of ingredients, of which the most "exotic" is the dry mustard, this elegantly simple dish is packed with flavor and richness without all the calories of heavy cream or butter.

The simplicity of the recipe makes it easy to improvise, as you can see from other comments here. I increased the mustard a bit, added a bit of wine and replaced some of the water with chicken broth to add some additional flavor.

A wonderful, sophisticated dish.

Add honey to the mustard sauce, or apricot jam, or cardamom pods to cook. Skip flour step. Not necessary.

Great recipe - chicken was tender; I would also add broth, garlic, more herbs next time, maybe a tad more mustard. But it's a very velvety sauce. Reminds me of a mustard chicken I had at a country restaurant in France; have been looking for a similar recipe since. Also, chicken breasts aren't five ounces any more -- more like a pound. So I cut mine up a pounded them a bit.

Agree with all the commenters. Doubled the mustard (used Dijon and Stone Ground), used chicken stock instead of water, added juice of one lemon and came out delicious.

I incorporated a lot of the tips others suggested and they really improved the dish: chicken stock instead of water, some white wine, extra mustard, a few sprigs of thyme, the juice of one whole lemon. I also chopped up some mushrooms and added them to the sauce. It was very tasty served over rice and my husband loved it.

This might be a 'bastardized' version of a Senegalese dish called Chicken Yassa. The difference with that one is that you marinade the chicken overnight with juice of 4+ lemons, onions, and a tablespoon or two of dijon... THEN the next day you brown and stew for an hour. And it's delicious.

I have made this very successfully several times, each with only 1 lb. or so of chicken breasts (NOT thin cutlets). This probably was the result of a better, more concentrated sauce/chicken ratio, as I used most of the water despite having much less chicken in the pan. I also remove the chicken once browned in order to really brown and soften the chopped onion, then add the chicken back before flouring the whole pan and tossing to cook the flour. I then follow the rest of the recipe as written.

This is very good with a couple of changes. Bone in or boneless chicken thighs and trim excess fat. I use chicken stock and add thyme. Provides richness and gravy for a side of mashed potatoes.

I just made this dish! I made it for two people. I used white wine instead of water. I used 2 chicken breasts only but I made all the sauce and I wasn't sorry. It was delicious but next time I make it I may add some spices to give it more guts. In case you are wondering---- it doesn't taste like mustard.

Recipe was delicious as is. Cut thick chicken breasts in half lenght-wise so no need to pound. I suggest to anyone trying this recipe for the first time to follow Chef Pépin's instructions faithfully and then adjust. And please, why add cream to a too rare occurrence of a flavourful water-based sauce??

I'm a beginner-level cook, and I made this easily. Turned out very well. Made changes based on comments. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Substituted 1 cup white wine and 1 cup chicken broth for water, and made sure to scrap the pan to deglaze. Tripled the dijon and doubled the dried mustard. Floured chicken before cooking but added a tiny bit to the sauce while it simmered. Skipped the step of removing the meat to cook down the sauce- it was already cooked down sufficiently.

Chicken broth and white wine More mustard Tarragon or thyme Don’t cook as long; Flour chicken first

I've made this many times always tweaked a bit based on what's in the pantry. A few takeaways: I prefer thighs over breasts, a few tablespoons of Agave Syrup mellows the mustard sharpness nicely, a handful of chopped fresh herbs in season or a teaspoon or two of dried is nice. I like thyme, tarragon, and herbs de Provenance. A bit of Curry powder is tasty too and sliced mushrooms sauteed with the onion make for a rich earthiness. So many options keep this dish in heavy rotation in our house.