Poulet à l’Estragon or Chicken with Tarragon | Recipe

A whole chicken cooked in the oven with shallots, garlic and tarragon. A version of a classic French recipe that results in a juicy oven cooked chicken.

For three you’ll need a whole chicken of at least 1 kg, 5-6 shallots, 4 cloves of garlic, olive oil, 2-3 tsps tarragon, salt and white pepper.

Leave the chicken at room temperature a while before cooking. Heat the oven to 225 °C.

Rub the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Peel and thinly slice the shallots and the garlic.

Heat some olive oil in a casserole dish, a Dutch oven works well, and brown the chicken on both sides. When browned, turn the chicken so the breast faces up in the pot. Add the shallots and garlic and let them sauté until they turn golden. Sprinkle the tarragon over the chicken and onions, add a pinch or two of salt, cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven for approximately 50 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked through, and doesn’t release any red juices when cut, remove it from the oven. Ladle some of the oil from the pot over the chicken and serve with, for instance, fried potatoes and flake salt. Much of the herbs will be in the chicken skin, so don’t discard it when serving.

List of ingredients

1 whole chicken
Shallots
Garlic
Olive oil
Tarragon
Salt
White pepper

Tarragon in French cooking
Tarragon, with its distinctive flavour that combines anise and mild licorice, has been used in French cooking for centuries. Tarragon was probably introduced to France from the Middle East or Asia during the medieval period. The herb quickly became popular in French cuisine due to its unique taste.
As for Poulet à l’estragon itself, it likely emerged in the 19th or early 20th century when French cuisine was undergoing a period of refinement and codification. The dish exemplifies the approach of using fresh herbs and simple yet skillful cooking methods to elevate the flavours of dishes.

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