The Old-School French Chicken Dish That's Too Flavorful To Stay Forgotten

Let's be honest. Plain old chicken can get a little boring, especially when it comes to lean boneless and skinless chicken breast. There's only so many ways you can jazz up this protein to make it memorable. Usually, though, the best way to make a chicken breast shine is by using a nice creamy sauce. And when said sauce has bacon and mushrooms... well, that's even better.

One old-school chicken dish does just that. You might not see chicken supreme on restaurant menus much anymore, but that's not because it isn't flavorful. It's a delicious and simple way to prepare chicken at home, and there are plenty of recipes online that can guide you through it. Basically, you cook a few pieces of bacon in a hot skillet. Keep the rendered fat in the pan to sear both sides of chicken breast until golden brown and not quite cooked through. Then comes making the sauce: A mix of bacon, mushrooms, garlic, chicken broth, white wine, and heavy cream. Place the chicken in the sauce to let it finish cooking through. And, just like that, you have a delicious chicken supreme.

In traditional French cooking, chicken supreme (or suprême de volaille) often refers to a mostly boneless, skin-on, upper portion of the chicken breast, which might include the wing bone, or drumette. This is sometimes called an airline chicken breast cut as well. The name, chicken supreme, likely came about because of the suprême sauce that is derived from one of the five French mother sauces: velouté. It's basically just a mixture of butter and flour (a roux) and chicken stock. The suprême sauce adds cream to the velouté mix, and that's what makes a chicken supreme dish so velvety smooth and delicious.

This dish pairs well with most potato dishes. Though you want to remove excess moisture when making mashed potatoes, serving chicken supreme with its glorious sauce can add flavorful and welcoming creaminess to your mashed potatoes. If that feels a little too heavy, a side like roasted potatoes or roasted vegetables complement really well. You may even consider a classic light dish like green beans almondine. The key here is to let that delicious chicken breast — and the glossy, creamy accompanying sauce — shine. So, though chicken supreme is not typically served in restaurants these days, it's a classic French dish you can easily recreate at home.