This homemade, from scratch, Chicken a la King is a recipe straight out of my childhood. It's tender, moist chicken cooked in a creamy mushroom and pimiento sauce.
We're reaching back in the vintage files for another golden, old fashioned recipe today - Chicken a la King. Just in case you've never had Chicken a la King before, it's another one of those delicious old recipes that people just don't seem to make very much these days.
It contains bite-size pieces of moist chicken in a creamy mushroom and pimiento sauce. It's one of those homemade, comfort food, lick-your-plate clean recipes. For real. And it's super easy to make.
While many people assume that Chicken a la King is French roots, it really doesn't. It's the "a la" part that seems to give that impression and, I confess, I thought it came from Rance. Turns out, there are several origin stories.
The most popular of these belongs to Chef George Greenwald of the Brighton Beach Hotel in New York. It's said that this classic dish was invented there in the 1890s for E. Clark King, II.
Even though it was invented in the 19th century, it didn't really take off until the 1950s and was phased out of most restaurants by the end of the 60s.
Regardless of its origins, Chicken a la King is an old fashioned dish that I keep around. Maybe it's the cream sauce. Maybe it's the mushrooms. And even with its origin in the North, I always think of it as being decidedly Southern. It was a dinner party staple when I was growing up and also made frequent appearances on our Sunday dinner menu.
My easy to follow recipe below gives you instructions for making it all at once. However, you can also cook your chicken in advance and then proceed with the deboning when you're ready to make the recipe.
Also, if you don't mind using a pressure cooker or instant pot, you can speed the process up significantly by cooking your chicken that way. Your choice!
How to Make Chicken a la King
Make an Aromatic Chicken Broth to Start
Start by cooking a whole chicken in water with some lovely aromatic seasonings. Celery, carrot, whole allspice, peppercorns, and an onion stuck with whole cloves make a delicious stock! I always leave the peel on my onion when making chicken stock. It gives a pretty golden color to the finished stock.
You'll have quite a bit of stock, but you only need one cup for this recipe. Take that out and freeze the rest - it will make a wonderful chicken soup later!
Prepare the Chicken
Once your chicken is done and has cooled, remove all the meat and discard the skin and bones. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Set that aside for now.
Make the a la King Sauce
Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a large pan. Add the flour and stir together with a wire whisk until well blended. Add the cup of chicken stock and whisk rapidly until smooth and well blended. Cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in the half-and-half and simmer for an additional ten minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add the lemon juice.
Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl. To the yolks, add ½ cup of the hot sauce mixture and stir rapidly. Scrape the yolk and sauce mixture back into the pan and bring barely to the simmer while stirring. Remove the pan from the heat.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook stirring contantly until wilted and golden brown.
Add the pimientos and Tabasco and continue cooking just long enough to heat the pimientos through.
Combine the Chicken and Sauce
Add the shredded chicken and mushroom mixture to the cream sauce. Stir together.
I've heard of people serving Chicken à la King over thin pasta, but the traditional service is over toast points. Or, if you're serving it for a luncheon, puff pastry shells are nice.
(Note: to make toast points – preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove crust from 4-5 slices of bread. Cut across the bread to create triangles. Spray each side of the bread with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Bake until toasted and slightly crispy. May be made ahead of time.)
Recipe Variations
- Substitute turkey or tuna for the chicken. It's a great way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey and Tuna a la King is delicious!
- Instead of pimientos, you can always substitute finely diced roasted red peppers.
- Half a green bell pepper, diced very finely, is an excellent addition to the sauce.
- Instead of fresh mushrooms, substitute drained, jarred mushrooms.
FAQs
Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To freeze, allow it to cool completely and freeze in an appropriate freezer safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. I'd suggest reheating in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. If the sauce separates when reheating, stir in a little milk or half and half.
Chicken a la King doesn't need much embellishment. I usually serve it with a fresh tossed green salad dressed with an oil and vinegar based dressing to provide a contrasting acidity for the cream sauce. A mixed fresh fruit salad or mixed steamed vegetables would also be nice.
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Classic Chicken a la King
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken under 4 pounds if possible
- 6 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small onion stuck with 2 whole cloves
- 2 whole allspice
- 1 carrot peeled and cut in large pieces
- 3 ribs celery cut in large pieces
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 peppercorns
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks beaten
- 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup diced pimiento drained
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 16 toast points
Instructions
- Place the chicken, water, bay leaf, onion, allspice, carrot, celery, salt and peppercorns in a large pot.
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken cool in the broth.
- Strain the broth, reserving one cup of broth for this recipe and freeze or store the remainder for another use.
- Remove all the meat from chicken and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Add the flour, stirring with a whisk.
- When blended, add the cup of reserved broth. Stir rapidly until the sauce is blended and smooth.
- Cook about five minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the half-and-half and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add the lemon juice.
- Beat the two egg yolks in a small bowl.
- Add ½ cup of the hot sauce mixture to the egg yolks and stir rapidly.
- Scrape the mixture back into the sauce and bring barely to the simmer while stirring. Remove pan from the heat.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and add the mushrooms.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the mushrooms are wilted and nicely browned and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the pimientos and Tabasco and stir well. Cook just long enough to heat the pimientos.
- Add the cubed chicken and the mushroom mixture to the sauce.Serve over toast points.
For the toast points:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Remove crust from 4-5 slices of bread.
- Cut across the bread to create triangles.
- Spray each side of the bread with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake until toasted and slightly crispy.
Notes
- Substitute turkey or tuna for the chicken.
- Instead of pimientos, you can always substitute finely diced roasted red peppers.
- Half a green bell pepper, diced very finely, is an excellent addition to the sauce.
- Instead of fresh mushrooms, substitute drained, jarred mushrooms.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Rocky Mountain Woman says
My grandmother made a northern PA version of this with just peas and pimentos on toast. I loved it....
Joanne says
Oh my gosh! I remember when I used to eat meat and LOVED chicken ala king but it was from a can! Wonder if they still sell that stuff? I used to have it over toast.
I'll have to use your recipe and make it for my husband. I know he'll love it and it will be SO much better than what I rememeber.