This is an interesting recipe as it could be traced precisely back to the original inventor. Well, not 100% from just the name. This dish was named after Mr. Gaston Gerard, Mayor of Dijon, France at around 1930. It was Mrs. Gaston Gerard who created this dish when she cooked for a celebrated food critic. It is said it’s now a Dijon classic.
My kids love chicken dishes. I always like to try different chicken recipes that are not very complicated. I have to say I love this recipe. The ingredients are readily available in US grocers, cooking technique is simple and forgiving, and most importantly, the finished dish looks like a gourmet dish. I particularly like the crispy crest right after it is taken out of the oven. Cheese just goes well with chicken.
Gaston Gerard Chicken
Equipment
- 10“ frying pan
- 12“ frying pan
- cheese grater
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
- 4 oz Gruyere cheese
- 3-4 oz white wine
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 0.5-1 cup heavy cream (Crème Fraiche or sour cream)
- 1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1-2 tbsp bread crumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the breast meat and drum sticks from the whole chicken.
- Cut the breast into 5x5" pieces, and remove the bone from the drums sticks.
- Cut the remaining carcass into 5x5" pieces.
- Grate the Gruyere cheese.
- Put the 12" (larger one) pan on the stove, and turn the heat to high.
- Add oil and the chicken meat pieces. Saute at medium heat until the meat turns light brown. Put them to the 10" (smaller) pan.
- Saute 2-3 pieces of carcass chunk until light brown. Put the sauted meat back into the large pan. Sprinkle salt, peper and paprika.
- Put the lid on. Turn the heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 mins. Flip the meat pieces occasionally.
- Transfer all the chicken pieces to the small pan, and put the pan into oven at 170-200F.
- Add 2/3 of the grated cheese into the soup in the large pan. Turn the heat to high. Mix vigorously until all cheese is incorporated to the soup to form sort of cheese fondue.
- Add the wine to the above cheese fondue, and continue to mix at high heat to reduce.
- After 2-3 mins, add the heavy cream and continue to mix and reduce for 3-4 mins. Once the sauce coats the back of a spoon without breaking, turn off the heat.
- Add the dijon mustard to the sauce and mix. Adjust flavor with salt or some sugar.
- Take the small pan out of oven, and pour the sauce onto the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
- Put the small pan back into oven, and switch to broil at low heat for 8-10 mins.
- Take the pan out of oven. It's ready to serve.
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