Also Bresse chicken with cream, Poulet à la crème, Volaille de Bresse à la crème
A Bresse chicken browned gently in butter, then simmered and finished in thick cream, often with mushrooms.
What makes it poulet de bresse à la crème
A well-raised chicken, jointed.
Butter, and no browning past golden.
Cream reduced in the pan until it thickens on its own.
Where it comes from
Bresse chickens — white feathers, red comb, blue feet, the colours of the French flag, as locals like to point out — are raised outdoors and finished on grain and milk, and their name is protected. They are prized for firm, well-flavoured meat.
Cream is the obvious partner in a region of dairy farms, and cooks here keep it simple: the bird, butter, a splash of wine and a lot of cream reduced until it coats. Any good free-range chicken will do outside the region.
How it varies
With morels
Morels in the cream for special occasions, sometimes with a splash of vin jaune from the Jura.
Poulet au vinaigre
A Lyon cousin: the chicken deglazed with wine vinegar and finished with tomato and cream.