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Irish Chicken in Whiskey Cream Sauce

Irish chicken whiskey cream sauce with golden seared chicken breasts, mushrooms, and shallots in a thick amber sauce. The pan sauce simmers until it coats the chicken, with visible thyme flecks for a rich, St. Patrick's Day chicken dinner.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Irish-American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • garlic powder to taste
  • dried thyme to taste
Searing and sauce base
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 shallots finely minced
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
  • 3 clove garlic minced
Whiskey cream sauce
  • 0.333 cup Irish whiskey (Jameson)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 0.5 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Season and sear the chicken
  1. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season all over with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme to taste. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through to 165°F, then remove to a plate.
Build the whiskey mushroom sauce
  1. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium-high heat, then cook shallots and mushrooms for 5-6 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then turn the heat off.
  2. With the heat still off, carefully pour in the Irish whiskey, then return to medium heat and let it cook off for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Stir in the heavy cream, chicken broth, Dijon mustard, and fresh thyme leaves, then simmer for 5-6 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Finish and serve
  1. Return the chicken breasts to the pan and spoon the whiskey cream sauce over each breast.
  2. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve immediately.

Notes

Pro tip: after you add the Irish whiskey, keep it to 1-2 minutes so the sauce turns amber and fragrant without tasting harsh. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days; freeze the cooked chicken and sauce up to 2 months for best quality. For a lighter option, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream, keeping an extra 1-2 minutes simmering to help the sauce thicken.