A question about a recipe: Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce

Monita is a recipe tester for Food52.

added 7 months ago

You could use brandy

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hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.

added 7 months ago

I'd either scrap it or add a bit extra chicken broth or a couple of tablespoons apple juice if you're averse to buying some brandy for cooking.

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ChefOno added 7 months ago

Cognac is to brandy as Champagne is to sparkling wine. In some recipes, wine and spirits serve the purpose of dissolving or carrying alcohol-soluble flavors. Not here, however, so you're free to leave either out if you'd prefer (you can simply deglaze with stock). That said, not only would that change the dish considerably, a bottle of inexpensive brandy is a very versatile thing to have at hand, especially for times when the alcohol is synergistic (e.g. tomato sauces).

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Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added 7 months ago

I agree that a bottle of brandy is a good thing to have in a kitchen. And I think it's a super addition to this recipe. But I also think it will be quite delicious if you just leave it out.

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Sarah is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added 7 months ago

If you have the time, space and inclination, you can always buy a 125ml - 375ml bottle of brandy/cognac at a liquor store - as it is nice to have on hand as others have said. Alternatively, I second HLA's suggestion of apple juice or chicken stock - the main idea is getting the browned bits for the extra flavour.

Other suggestions: white wine, white vermouth or verjus (non-alcoholic pressings from white wine grapes).

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erin.horan.921 added 7 months ago

So thanks to everyone's helpful advice, I went and bought a bottle of brandy today. I'm really excited to try this recipe for dinner tomorrow night.

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added 7 months ago

Another alternative to inexpensive brandy is to buy one of those airline size mini-bottles. I know you can buy Hennessey in that size it will probably cost you about $3.00. They're sold behind the counter at liquor stores. Bev Mo also carries them.

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