Chicken Chasseur Meatballs

I’ve been on a huge meatball kick lately, as is evident by these Meatloaf Meatballs and these Pizza Meatballs, but now I’m bringing a bit more sophistication to my meatball game. These Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Chicken) Meatballs take a classic French dish and turns it into your new favorite recipe to make when you want to impress. I first made Chicken Chasseur back in high school when I participated in a culinary competition for C-CAP, which is a great organization that teaches young kids all about the culinary arts and prepares them for working in the industry. We compete for scholarships and one of the recipes I had to learn was chicken chasseur. It’s engrained in my brain and I still make it all the time. I thought it was appropriate to give it the meatball treatment because it sounded so great, and guess what? It is!

To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, tarragon, red pepper flakes and lemon juice until evenly incorporated, but try not to over-mix at this point. Roll out into meatballs just shy of a golfball size.

**Note: Honestly you can make them any size you prefer, just keep in mind that small meatballs will cook in a shorter amount of time and the bigger the meatball, the longer it’ll cook.**

Set a large skillet over moderate heat with 2 tablespoons butter and the olive oil. Once hot place half of the meatballs in the skillet, trying not to overcrowd them. Cook on both sides until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a small baking sheet and continue browning the rest of the meatballs. Once all have browned, place the baking sheet in the oven until cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes.

**Note: We’re not looking to cook them all the way through at this point because they’ll continue to cook through in the oven.**

Meanwhile, keep the same skillet over moderate heat. Add in the shallot, garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until golden brown. Once browned, season with salt and pepper.

**Tip: A great tip when cooking mushrooms is to not season until after they’ve browned. If you add salt before it’ll just draw out all their moisture and prevent them from getting properly browned and crispy. You can thank Julia Child for that tip (also don’t over-crowd them).**

Add in the wine and cook until mostly evaporated completely. Stir in the chicken stock and cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced by half.

**Tip: You want a dry white wine for this (something like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) but most importantly you want something that you actually enjoy to drink. If you don’t like the taste of it normally, then you wont like the sauce. Also, you can omit the wine if you don’t want to use it.**

While the sauce thickens and cooks away, I’ll share how to make my favorite peas. I make this so many times throughout the week because it goes so well with everything! But keep in mind that they’re optional and you can really serve these meatballs with either mashed potatoes or steamed broccoli. 

Add in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Once hot stir in shallot and garlic with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until just beginning to brown. Then add in the peas and cook until bright green and warmed through. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan before serving.

**Tip: You don’t have to thaw the peas at all, and so that’s the best part about this recipe. You can just grab a bag from the peas and throw them in the skillet.**

Back to the sauce, add in the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook the sauce until it has reduced by half. 

**Note: Traditionally, when you make chicken chasseur you’re supposed to peel and remove the seeds from the tomato and then dice it. But I get too lazy to do that and honestly it’s not necessary at all!**

Once thickened, remove from the flame and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, tarragon and parsley and stir until the butter has melted through and the sauce is glossy. Give it a taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. 

This sauce is so good I make it all the time and use it for different recipes! Its also really good over lightly floured chicken cutlets that have been pan fried. Or they’re great on pan fried pork chops as well! It’s the best sauce I promise.

Spoon the sauce over the cooked meatballs and serve with either couscous, rice, mashed potatoes and/peas. I love it with Israeli couscous and those peas from earlier, but the sauce would be great with mashed potatoes and sautéed broccolini as well!

I also want to point out that the chicken meatballs alone would be delicious on their own without the sauce as well. They’re a great base recipe for chicken meatballs, but you can also make this with ground turkey, ground pork or even ground beef instead. I’m just trying to give you as many options as possible so that it feels like you can easily make this.

I love this recipe so much because it’s easy enough to whip up during the week, but is still nice enough to be made for a fancy dinner or date night-in. If you have any questions about substitutions, don’t hesitate to ask. But I do hope you give it a try! Stay safe my friends.

Chicken Chasseur Meatballs

These Chicken Chasseur Meatballs are a great way to spruce up your weeknight dinners. Or maybe you want a fancy date night-in recipe that will impress? Look no further because this one is it.

Servings 4 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 2 pounds ground chicken
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup Panko or plain bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley finely chopped
• Kosher salt and coarse black pepper

Peas (optional):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small shallot diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 12- ounces frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, tarragon, red pepper flakes and lemon juice until evenly incorporated, but try not to over-mix at this point. Roll out into meatballs just shy of a golfball size.
• Set a large skillet over moderate heat with 2 tablespoons butter and the olive oil. Once hot place half of the meatballs in the skillet, trying not to overcrowd them. Cook on both sides until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. We're not looking to cook them all the way through at this point. Transfer to a small baking sheet and continue browning the rest of the meatballs. Once all have browned, place the baking sheet in the oven until cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, keep the same skillet over moderate heat. Add in the shallot, garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until golden brown. Once browned, season with salt and pepper. Add in the wine and cook until mostly evaporated. Stir in the chicken stock and cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced by half. Add in the tomato, tarragon, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Once thickened, remove from the flame and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, stirring until melted through and glossy. Spoon the sauce over the meatballs and serve with couscous, rice, mashed potatoes and/peas.
• The peas are optional, but just in case I'll add the recipe here for you. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add in a tablespoon of olive oil and stir in shallot and garlic with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until just beginning to brown. Then add in the peas, no need to thaw, and cook until bright green and warmed through. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan before serving.

Author: The Candid Appetite