Chicken à la King

Chicken à la King is a dish of diced chicken, mushrooms, green peppers, and pimientos in a cream sherry sauce often served on hot buttered toast, or pastry shells, such as puff pastry or cream puffs, but can also be served in a nest of noodles, over rice, on English muffins or biscuits. This recipe is a great way to use leftover cooked chicken or turkey. As an alternative, swap out the chicken for chunks of tuna fish; just be sure to use a good quality tuna.

History

The origin of this dish is somewhat debated, but there is one scenario that gets the popular vote. In the early 1900s at the Brighton Beach Hotel in New York, the head chef wanted to create a dish to honor the hotel owner, E. Clark King II. Mr. and Mrs. King enjoyed it so much they asked for seconds. So, the following day, chicken a la king appeared on the menu, for $1.25 a serving.

The dish gained a reputation as an elegant dish worthy of any upscale hotel restaurant and soon became standard fare at establishments such as The Plaza Hotel. In 1915, the maitre d’ of the Plaza hotel recommended preparing minced chicken à la king as the centerpiece of a “dainty home luncheon” It then grew to find its way onto menus across the country, remaining popular until about the 1960s. By the 1950s, canned creamed soups, canned mushrooms, and other similar flour-laden recipe versions could be found, an “industrial facsimile of the orignal dish,” as one writer put it. Gone was the sauce made from cream and sherry, thickened with eggs, and fresh vegetables. By the 1980s the dish is rarely mentioned.

Peas are not traditional but many cooks add them to the recipe.

Chicken à la King
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Emeril serves his Chicken à la King on buttermilk biscuits.

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped yellow onions
1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry sherry
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth, heated
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
1 teaspoon chopped parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 recipe Buttermilk Biscuits to which1 tablespoon chopped assorted soft herbs, such as chives, basil, parsley, and chervil has been added

Combine the milk and cream and heat to a simmer. Cover to keep hot.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers and cook until the vegetables are soft and the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the sherry and cook until nearly all evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the heated milk and cream and stir. Add the chicken stock, return to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Add the tarragon, salt, and pepper and stir well to incorporate. Remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until pale yellow and frothy, about 2 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot sauce to the yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining sauce, stirring until well blended. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sherry, stir well, and return to medium heat. Fold in the chicken, parsley, and lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, arrange 2 buttermilk biscuit halves on each of 4 large plates. Spoon 1/4 cup of the sauce over each half and serve immediately.