Chef Juliette
Eggs on the Dish
Œufs sur le plat teach the whole art of egg cookery in minutes: hot butter below, a light baste above, and the nerve to pull milky whites before the soft yolks set.
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Eggs Chasseur
Created by Chef Juliette
Tender eggs sur le plat, quickly sautéed chicken livers, and a glossy mushroom, shallot, white wine, and tomato sauce meet at the last moment, each still properly itself.
Breakfast & Brunch
French
Weeknight
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Œufs chasseur (eggs hunter's style) teaches timing before it teaches sauce work. The one true thing is that the eggs wait for nothing: the chasseur sauce must be reduced, the livers sautéed, and the table ready before the eggs begin. The eggs are cooked sur le plat, cooked and served in their own shallow dishes, so every lost second continues cooking them.
The original recipe assumed a saucier on staff, Chasseur sauce within reach, stock never off the fire, and a salamander or fierce oven ready for service. At home, one skillet builds the mushroom fond and wine reduction, strong chicken stock supplies the body, and a hot oven stands in for the salamander. The saucier and the holding pans were brigade scaffolding and can go; the reduction, rapid sauté, soft eggs, and immediate service are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Make only enough garnish for four, then have every spoon and plate in place before the eggs meet the oven. That final coordination matters more than anything else here.
Œufs chasseur belongs to the codified Paris kitchen and the bourgeois dining-room table rather than to one provincial breakfast tradition. Chasseur grew from the sauce vocabulary of game cookery, joining mushrooms, shallot, white wine, tomato, herbs, and a brown stock foundation before traveling across the canon as a named garnish. In this egg preparation, the rapidly sautéed chicken liver is essential rather than decorative, carrying the savory depth of the sauce to delicate eggs cooked sur le plat.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Eggs on the Dish
Quantity
4 portions Eggs on the Dish (No. 395)
freshly cooked according to its own entry
chicken livers
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g)
trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick
small button mushrooms
Quantity
1 1/2 cups (360 ml / 120 g)
thinly sliced
shallots
Quantity
2 medium (about 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 60 g)
finely chopped
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g)
divided
dry white wine
Quantity
1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g)
strong unsalted chicken stock
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
canned whole tomatoes
Quantity
1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g)
drained and finely chopped
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g)
finely chopped
fresh tarragon leaves
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 3 g)
finely chopped
fine salt
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g)
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Eggs on the Dishfreshly cooked according to its own entry | 4 portions Eggs on the Dish (No. 395) |
| chicken liverstrimmed and sliced 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| small button mushroomsthinly sliced | 1 1/2 cups (360 ml / 120 g) |
| shallotsfinely chopped | 2 medium (about 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 60 g) |
| cold unsalted butterdivided | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) |
| dry white wine | 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| strong unsalted chicken stock | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| canned whole tomatoesdrained and finely chopped | 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) |
| fresh tarragon leavesfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 3 g) |
| fine saltdivided | 3/4 teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 12-inch skillet
- •Four shallow 6-inch ovenproof egg dishes
- •Rimmed baking sheet for carrying the egg dishes
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small whisk
Instructions
- 1
Arrange the mise en place
Pat the liver slices very dry and keep them cold while you prepare the sauce ingredients. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chicken stock for adjustments, and place the four shallow egg dishes and serving spoons within reach. Once the eggs begin, there is no useful pause.
- 2
Brown the mushrooms
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When its foam subsides, spread in the mushrooms and leave them undisturbed until their undersides bronze, about 2 minutes. Toss and continue cooking until browned and the skillet is dry, then add the shallots and half the salt. Cook for 1 minute, just until the shallots soften without coloring. That brown glaze on the skillet floor is the fond, and it is the sauce's foundation.
If the mushrooms release water, keep the heat up and wait. Add the wine only when that liquid has evaporated and browning has resumed. - 3
Reduce the chasseur sauce
Pour in the white wine and scrape every bit of fond from the skillet. Boil until only about 2 tablespoons remain and the wine no longer smells raw, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and all but the reserved stock, then simmer briskly until the sauce reaches nappe, a light coating that clings to the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. If it becomes pasty, loosen it with reserved stock; if it runs straight off the spoon, keep reducing. Take the skillet off the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of cold butter, a little at a time, followed by the parsley and tarragon. If the butter separates into oily beads, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold reserved stock away from the heat. Ça se rattrape. Transfer the sauce to a warm bowl and cover loosely.
- 4
Sauté the chicken livers
Wipe the skillet and return it to medium-high heat with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season the dry liver slices with the remaining salt and the pepper. Sauté the livers, cooking them rapidly in a little hot butter, in one uncrowded layer for about 90 seconds on the first side and 60 seconds on the second. They should be browned outside, just firm within, and reach 165°F (74°C) at the thickest point. If liquid gathers because the skillet was crowded, lift out the livers, pour away the liquid, reheat the skillet, and return them for 20 seconds. Spoon in just enough chasseur sauce to coat them and toss for 15 seconds, no longer. The liver should be cohered with the sauce, not simmered in it.
- 5
Cook the eggs last
With the sauced livers off the heat and ready to serve, prepare four portions of Eggs on the Dish (No. 395) according to its own entry. Do not make them early or ask them to wait while the garnish catches up. Carry them directly from cooking to assembly.
- 6
Garnish and serve
Arrange 1 tablespoonful of the sliced liver mixture on either side of each portion, leaving the yolks uncovered. Spoon any remaining chasseur sauce over the livers rather than flooding the eggs. Serve immediately, while the sauce gleams and the eggs remain soft. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose chicken livers that look glossy and deep burgundy, with no green patches or sharp smell. Trim away pale connective tissue and any green-stained portion, which can be unpleasantly bitter.
- •A gelatin-rich homemade stock gives the finest body, but good unsalted packaged stock can serve. If it tastes watery, reduce 2 cups to 1 cup before measuring it for the recipe; that concentrated cup is the honest home equivalent of the stockpot that never left the old stove.
- •The source preparation demands exceedingly fresh eggs because they hold a compact white and a proud yolk. For anyone advised to avoid softly cooked eggs, use pasteurized shell eggs.
- •Serve Œufs chasseur with toasted country bread and the same dry white wine used in the sauce. It is generous enough for supper and needs no fussy companion.
Advance Preparation
- •The chasseur sauce can be prepared through the stock-and-tomato reduction up to 1 day ahead. Chill it promptly, then reheat gently and whisk in the cold butter and herbs immediately before cooking the livers.
- •The mushrooms and shallots can be cut up to 4 hours ahead. Trim and slice the livers in the same window, keep them covered and cold between paper towels, and sauté them only at service.
- •Do not cook the livers or eggs ahead. Both depend upon their last few minutes in the pan and oven, and reheating turns tenderness into firmness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 235g)
Calories
345 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
515 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
21 g
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