Chicken Marengo  Recipe (2024)

I cooked this years ago with great satisfaction. However, the recipe as written contains one blunder: "Bring to the boil. Cover and cook 10 minutes." If you don't turn down the heat from boil to a low simmer, you'll end up with mush. A 15-minute simmer is advisable. And for a thicker sauce, remove the lid for the last couple of minutes of simmering. Adding a few pieces of carrots to the simmer will also help thicken the sauce and add a pleasantly sweet earthiness.

I am a 13 year old cook and I made this for my family.They all loved it and if I was going to make is again I would add more white wine just to get more flavor out of it because I tasted to me a little plain.

Bacon instead of butter ---
I have made the version of this called Poulet Marengo - same Napoleon story but they "could find no lard so used bacon instead" The chicken is browned in bacon drippings instead of oil or butter and the final dish has the crisp crumbled bacon on top. It's delicious !

I can never cook a whole cut-up chicken with bones on the stove top in 22 minutes! It usually takes me at least 40 minutes to an hour, esp a coq-au-vin, so all the flavors develop some depth.

Olives - it’s missing olives. At least they’re in my French wife’s recipe and they really make the dish....

This is similar to recipe for chicken Provençal (based on the chicken Marengo cooked for Napoleon after the the battle of that name) that appeared in Pierre Franey’s 60 Minute Gourmet book, which was my first cookbook. The recipe, which includes anchovies and olives added after the chicken has cooked in the liquid, remains one of my favorites. I’ve always thought the anchovies were the secret to the recipe; it doesn’t taste fishy, but the umami of the anchovies makes the sauce more complex.

" 1 chicken, 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces "
The whole thing, though presumably without head and feet, guts and feathers. But you could use thighs. And you could use the head and feet, which would amuse the children and horrify the wife without adversely affecting the flavor. Do leave out the guts and feathers, though.

The chicken will still be clucking after only ten more minutes of cooking, s the recipe instructs! After it comes to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes to an hour. You can't overcook this chicken in all the lovely gravy that it's bathing in.

I cooked exactly as written save two details: I used all bone-in thighs with skin on, and I used a Porcini bullion cube. It's delicious. Also, thighs can take a long simmer and not dry out. While whole chicken is certainly more old style, and Napoleon couldn't have called for an 8-legged chicken, thighs are best for this.

I understand that this the "60 minute" version but why not spend a little time "building the dish' to enhance the flavors--it takes only a few minutes more to brown the chicken, remove, give the mushrooms a saute bath in the butter, remove, then cook the onion, peppers (if added), garlic to softness and then add the tomato paste here to combine with the vegetables then the tomatoes etc combine, then the flavorings (spices) before emersing the chicken to create more of a short braise than a stew?

I made this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs last night and didn't pour off any fat from the skillet. Family members commented that this was an improvement from the first time I cooked, following the recipe more closely. I also used an entire can of tomato paste, which helped to thicken the sauce.

Made this for dinner last night - family loved it. Made a few small changes to speed things up: used chicken breasts cut into medium sized pieces, and, in step 3, removed chicken from the pan but left the fat, then cooked the onions and mushrooms in the pan. Added chicken back with the tomatoes. It was delicious and very easy for a weeknight dinner, though I would proudly serve this to guests.

Liked this recipe but the order was a bit off. Leave 1/2 to 1/3 of the chicken grease in the pan and remove the chicken after browning. Use the grease to sauté the onion and garlic. After 5 min add wine, mushrooms and spices. Cook a couple more mins and then stir in the chicken broth and the tomato paste. Use most of a can of paste. Stir and let the sauce thicken slightly. Then add tomatoes. Mix in well and then add the chicken back. Much easier this way.

What type of chicken is used in this? Chicken thighs?

*"Bring to the boil. Cover and cook 10 minutes." Turn down the heat from boil to a low simmer. A 15-minute simmer is advisable. For a thicker sauce, remove the lid for the last few minutes of simmering. Add a few pieces of carrots to the simmer to also help thicken the sauce and add a pleasantly sweet earthiness.* I used all bone-in thighs with skin on, and I used a Porcini bullion cube. Didn't pour off fat from skillet.*More tomato paste for a thicker sauce.*Olives

Needs to cook longer. Sauce is quite acid, smoothed it out by stirring in 1/4 c milk.

Delicious and a stress-free recipe to make for visiting friends or out-of-towners a few hours ahead of time. You can have the whole dish ready and simmering in about 45 minutes. Turn off the stove and wait for your guests. Have a glass of red wine. Turn on the stove again and boil some pasta for an accompaniment.

Very very good. Upped the paste just a bit for a thicker sauce, left the chicken fat in for flavor and simmered for 45 minutes as last step.

Used four boneless, skinless thighs (cut most ingredients in half). Cook chicken five minutes, turn, cook for two minutes, remove from pan. Don’t need to pour off fat. Used one shallot instead of onion. Used extra garlic! Next time I would add a pinch of red pepper. Added a little brandy with the wine. Keep stock at ½ cup, bring to boil, put chicken back in, cover, reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes. Serve over torn up crusty bread.

My chicken was not done after the 10 min. covered cooking. Also, the onions and mushrooms are much better if sauted rather than boiled.

I can't believe no one here has mentioned the Campbell's soup version of this recipe. It was in regular rotation at my house growing up. Either way, it definitely needs more than ten minutes!

Nope this just had no flavour. I even tried to build flavour by cooking onions mushrooms chicken separately cooking tomato paste etc but this just wasn't great. Not worth the effort.

Made this as a quick chicken for dinner-and between the wine and the butter.... mmmmm! A lovely nutty flavor comes out! So quick

I really like this dish. Very hearty. I added some sliced Kalamata olives for more flavor and crushed hot peppers for some heat. Doing this again I would use boneless beasts and thighs to not deal with the bones. And I’d add more salt and some balsamic vinegar or red wine for a little more acidic balance.

Remove the chicken when adding in the mushrooms. Add in the onions, garlic, bay, and thyme. When it has cooked for the 5 minutes add salt to taste and add the chicken back in. Chicken will need an extra ~5-10 minutes cooking from what recipe says. Do this extra cooking uncovered to reduce the sauce a bit.When done slice the chicken breast and serve with sauce drizzled over top with a bit of fresh parsley.

disappointing. I made this in '68 from Joy of Cooking. Thought this would be the same. Found the old cookbook and added brandy and BLACK OLIVES. a bit of flour.. so much improved.

cook 1-2 pieces of baconbrown boneless skinless chicken thighs in bacon fat.then put some butter (1 tbsp) in pot and saute mushrooms, green pepper slices, carrots, onions, then garlic. add thyme, a little saltadd 1 can chopped tomatoes, wine, bay leafchicken brothparsleyadd olives green and kalamat at end

also add some olives at the end

I had lots of chicken breast and mushrooms so made a 1/3 recipe with boneless cooking breasts. I agree with other reviewers that this requires more cooking time than suggested. Also it lacked something at the end. I told my husband maybe lemon juice, but I now see it must have been olives. Green pepper might do the trick too. Great easy weeknight meal.

A 15-minute simmer is advisable. And for a thicker sauce, remove the lid for the last couple of minutes of simmering. Adding a few pieces of carrots to the simmer will also help thicken the sauce and add a pleasantly sweet earthiness.