Before we get going…some of you may be reading the words “sherry” and “mushrooms” and hesitating. Don’t. I am not suggesting you buy a bottle of Pedro Ximenez (to pour into a pot? Seriously?). Nor does this recipe require mushrooms found by your friend Pierre during one of his weekend tramps about the French countryside. No sir. We’re talking cheap sherry (dry, please, but we’ll get to that) and supermarket shrooms. You know, the white button kind.
In other words, chicken with sherried mushrooms is well within your budget. (I hope.)
Further, chicken with sherried mushrooms is the type of dish that looks complicated but isn’t. Sure, you can make it more complicated if you like–browning the chicken parts, deglazing the pan with quality brandy (or garbage brandy, your call), scraping up the fond and flaming said brandy afterwards, be my guest.
Or you can do as I did and go the easy route. The result will still seem fancy, especially on a weeknight. Wine and mushrooms–even crummy wine and supermarket mushrooms–have that effect on food. Add minced parsley and you’re well on the road to classy.
Into the kitchen.
Chicken with sherried mushrooms needs two pans. This is annoying until you realize the chicken demands little beyond plonking into a roasting pan and remembering it’s in the oven.
The real attention goes into cooking the mushrooms, and even that is fairly minimal.
Mushrooms are best cleaned by brushing off any obvious dirt with a vegetable brush or damp paper towel. Submerging them in water only leaves them waterlogged, which is not a pleasant way to eat them. Trim the stem and any damaged bits, then slice the cap thinly.
Heat a large saute pan. Add olive oil, butter, white wine, and the sherry. Tip in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the heat medium low. Add thinly sliced garlic cloves, if wished.Now allow the mushrooms to cook. Slowly. Patience is the name of the game here.
When the chicken is ready–by starting it ahead of the mushrooms, it finishes cooking just as the mushrooms are done, or nearly so–carefully ladle a scant cup of the bird’s cooking juices into the mushroom pan. Stir. Taste. Add more cooking liquid if you think the mushrooms would benefit.
At this point I added 1/2 cup heavy cream to the mushrooms. I realize most people will be horrified by my adding cream to a dish containing butter and chicken fat. Please understand: my husband is seriously underweight due to neuromuscular disease. Any way I can get calorie dense food into him is encouraged by his physicians.* Having said this, know that chicken with sherried mushrooms needs neither butter nor cream to be delicious.
*understatement
A few final mutterings. You want DRY sherry. Not sweet. Not, if you are a certain age, cream sherry. Some of us remember Gilda Radner and Harley’s Bristol Cream. Not what we want here.
Chicken with sherried mushrooms is lovely with green salad, spinach, or arugula. It’s also nice over rice, pasta, or white fish like sole.
Chicken with Sherried Mushrooms
yield: 2 servings. Easily increased upwards.
Prep time: about one hour
Please read the notes, below, for theme and variation, including vegetarian and vegan alternatives.
For the Chicken:
1 pound/454 grams skin-on, bone-in chicken parts, any kind
about 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup/2 ounces/60 ml dry white wine
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional additions:
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
For the mushrooms:
approximately 8-9 ounces/250 grams white button mushrooms (about 5 large)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 lobe shallot, peeled and minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/4 cup/2 ounces/60 ml dry sherry
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional:
1/2 cup/4 ounces/100ml heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
Bring the chicken to room temperature. Arrange the pieces skin side up in a roasting pan. Add the olive oil, white wine, butter (if using), salt and pepper. Place pan in oven. Expect bone-in, skin-on parts to take about an hour. Boneless pieces will need about 45 minutes. either way, check the chicken after 30 minutes, adding more liquid–white wine or water–if necessary. Chicken is done when juices run clear and no redness is evident.
Now turn to the mushrooms. Do not submerge mushrooms in water, as they will become waterlogged. Instead, wipe clean with damp paper towels or clean cloths. Trim stems and any damaged bits. Slice caps thinly.
Place a 12-14 inch/30-32cm saute pan over medium low heat. Add olive oil and butter. Allow butter to melt. Add the shallot and garlic. Stir to blend with olive oil/butter mixture. Lower heat slightly and cook for a few minutes. The alliums should soften without browning. If they begin browning, turn heat down further.
Once shallots and garlic are translucent, add the mushrooms. Stir, then add sherry. Stir again.
Adjust heat to gentle simmer. Leave the mushrooms cooking for ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Mushrooms will absorb the cooking liquid without becoming dry. Should the pan start looking really dry–unlikely–add a little more sherry.
When the chicken is done, remove from the oven, placing the roasting pan as close to the mushroom pan as safely possible. Ladle some of the chicken’s cooking broth into the mushroom pan. Stir to integrate, then taste. (careful-it’s hot!) Season with salt and pepper, if you think necessary.
If you want to add cream to the mushrooms, now is the time. Pour slowly. Splashing yourself with hot cooking liquid isn’t a good idea.
If the mushrooms need perking up, try a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. If lemon juice doesn’t help, remove few mushrooms from the pan. Put them in a small bowl. Now add a tiny amount of sugar. Taste. Does sugar improve the flavor No? Try a little tomato paste. No? Balsamic vinegar is next. One of these should help.
Chicken with Sherried Mushrooms pairs well with astringent dishes like green salad, spinach, or arugula. The sherried mushrooms are delicious atop pasta, rice, or as a baked potato topping. They als make a nice crostini topping.
Leftovers may be refrigerated up to three days. For best results, freeze chicken and sherried mushrooms separately.
Notes:
As noted in the post, the butter and cream in this recipe are optional. I include them as my husband is still underweight after a medical crisis in 2024. I know most readers don’t need or want additonal fat in their food. Rest assured the recipe works without cream or butter.
Bone-in, skin-on chicken is best here, but boneless, skinless cuts of chicken work too. Just remember they cook quickly.
The sherried mushrooms also work well with steak and white fish like rockfish and sole. Or try them atop pasta, rice, or potatoes.
Chicken with Sherried Mushrooms is a dish that is easily made vegetarian/vegan/celiac safe, so it’s worth keeping in mind when feeding large groups.
Dried mushrooms may be added to the recipe. Soak them for at least 30 minutes in warm water, or, if budgeting permits, red wine alone, or red wine cut with sherry. Strain the mushrooms through damp cheesecloth, then add the strained liquid to the mushroom saute.
A note about mushrooms of unknown provenance: if your buddy appears with a bag full of mushrooms nobody can identify, do not eat them. Many toxic mushrooms look exactly like their non-toxic cousins. Don’t risk it.
