Inspiration: Fresh herbs are one ingredient that are always a challenge for me to use up before they go bad. When I put a fresh herb on the grocery list, I always like to make sure that I have several recipes in mind for its use. This one has been on my tarragon list for a while!
What we Loved: I was so happy with the tarragon flavor in this dish. I’m not very experienced with cooking with tarragon yet, and I’m still getting used to its flavor profile. It has a somewhat strong licorice flavor, and since this recipe calls for quite a lot of tarragon, I wondered if it would overpower the dish. Happily, the tarragon flavor was perfectly subtle and delicious. With each bite of chicken, I knew that the tarragon was there, but it wasn’t at the forefront of the dish. With the buttery components of the pan sauce and some fresh vegetables on the side, this was a simple comfort food dinner that we both really enjoyed.
Helpful Hints: If you let the chicken cook completely undisturbed for the first five minutes or so after you put it into the pan, it will really help to form a nice, brown crust!
Tarragon Chicken
Source: lbrookscooks, originally from Saveur Magazine
I made a few changes to the recipe. Here’s the recipe as I made it.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter (divided)
2 chicken thighs, 2 drumsticks, and 2 wings
kosher salt and black pepper
8 stems fresh tarragon
1 cup chicken stock
1. Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Season the chicken well on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin side down in the pan, and let brown for approximately 5 minutes.
2. Flip the chicken, add four sprigs of tarragon to the pan, and cover. Continue cooking until the chicken juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining four sprigs of tarragon.
3. Transfer the chicken to a platter, and discard the tarragon sprigs from the pan. Drain the fat from the pan.
4. Return the pan to the heat, and add the chicken stock. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a spoon, incorporating them into the sauce. Cook until reduced by half, approximately 5 minutes.
5. Swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter and the chopped tarragon. Serve the chicken with the sauce.
threeowlskitchen.com 
I love the smell and flavor of Tarragon, I use to go to a cafe in NY that had a chicken salad with Tarragon sandwich. I would go there just for that. Your chicken looks fabulous, loved the picture.
Looks great! Now you’ve got me thinking about how good this was all over again!
So yummy… I heard a trick to put your herbs and water in ice cubes and freeze them until further use. That way you can just throw a cube in when needed. You can removed from the tray and store the cubes in ziplock, defrost when you think water will spoil it. I have never tried it since if mine go bad it means they were lost somewhere in my fridge.
@polwig
That’s a great idea about freezing herbs in water. I freeze anything and everything and use the ice cube trick for pesto and sauces….but haven’t tried it with herbs. I think I’ll give it a shot. Thanks!
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