Vanilla belongs in savory cooking, and this is the dish that proves it. Chicken thighs go into Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter, get a splash of aged rum and a match, then finish in cream or coconut milk. It reads as a Creole dish because it more or less is one, built on a Breton butter. Plan on about fifteen minutes at the stove and another twenty simmering.
At a glance
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Serves: 4
- Active time: About 15 minutes
- Cook: 15 to 20 minutes of simmering after the flambe
- Key ingredient: Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter
Why this works
Bordier introduced its Madagascar vanilla butter in 2010: unsalted Breton butter worked with brown sugar and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla. Most people meet it on a slice of brioche and assume it is a dessert ingredient. It is not. Vanilla is aromatic rather than sweet, and the brown sugar in the butter is doing what a pinch of sugar does in any braise, which is give the pan something to caramelize.
The structure of the recipe is a classic French saute. You brown the chicken in a third of the butter, build a base with softened onion, caramelize lightly with sugar, then flambe. Burning off the rum is not theater: it drives off the raw alcohol edge and leaves the molasses and oak behind, which is exactly what you want next to vanilla. The remaining butter goes in off the heat at the end, so it emulsifies into the sauce rather than splitting, and the cream carries the vanilla through the whole pan. Coconut milk, Bordier's alternative, pushes the dish further toward the Indian Ocean.
Ingredients
Everything here is pantry-simple except the butter, which is the whole point of the dish.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs | 4 | 4 |
| Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter | 75 g | 2.6 oz, about 5 tbsp |
| Aged rum | 5 cl (50 ml) | About 3 1/2 tbsp |
| Single cream, or coconut milk | 15 to 20 cl (150 to 200 ml) | About 2/3 to 3/4 cup |
| Onion | 1 | 1 |
| Sugar | 1 teaspoon | 1 tsp |
| Oil | 1 drizzle | 1 drizzle |
Method
Step 1: Brown the chicken, then soften the onion
Brown the chicken thighs in a third of the vanilla butter with a drizzle of oil, which keeps the butter from burning. When they have color on both sides, lift them out of the pan. Add the chopped onion and cook it until it melts down and turns soft.
Step 2: Caramelize and flambe
Return the chicken to the pan, sprinkle the sugar over it and let it caramelize a little. Turn off your extractor hood. Pour in the rum, strike a match, and let it flambe without stirring until the flames go out on their own.
Step 3: Finish with butter and cream
Once the flames are out, season to taste and add the rest of the butter. Pour in the cream or coconut milk, bring it to a boil, then turn the heat low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Tips from our kitchen
- A third of the butter is 25 g, about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Bordier writes it as a fraction, so we have done the arithmetic. The remaining 50 g goes in at the end. Splitting it this way is deliberate: browning butter loses its aromatics, and the finishing butter is what you actually taste.
- Turn off the hood before the rum, every time. An extractor fan pulls flame straight up into a grease-lined duct. Bordier says to extinguish the hood and they mean it. Pour the rum from a measuring cup rather than the bottle, stand back, and keep a pan lid within reach to smother the flames if they run high. If you would rather not light it at all, add the rum and let it bubble hard for a minute to cook off the alcohol.
- Single cream is British for light cream, around 18 percent fat. American heavy cream at 36 percent works and gives a richer sauce that reduces faster, so start at the lower end of the range. Half-and-half is the closest direct match but can break at a hard boil, so keep it at a bare simmer.
- Bone-in, skin-on thighs are the right choice. They hold up to twenty minutes of simmering, where boneless thighs go stringy and breast meat dries out entirely. Brown the skin side first and give it longer than feels necessary, four or five minutes without moving it.
- Add the finishing butter off direct heat. Slide the pan aside, drop in the butter, and swirl rather than stir. Butter added to a boiling pan splits and you get an oil slick instead of a sauce.
- What failure looks like: a thin, greasy sauce with fat pooling at the edge. That means the pan was too hot when the butter went in. Pull it off the heat, add a splash of cold cream, and swirl until it comes back together.
How to serve it
Serve it straight from the pan over plain white rice, which is what the sauce is asking for. Green beans or braised chard on the side keep the plate from being uniformly rich. If you went with coconut milk, a squeeze of lime at the table sharpens everything. Vanilla butter is more versatile than it looks, and our guide to Bordier butter has more savory ideas for it.
Where to buy Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter in the US
The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.
- Churned Madagascar Vanilla Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): unsalted Breton butter worked with brown sugar and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, made since 2010.
For the rest of the flavored range, browse the Maison Bordier collection.
Frequently asked questions
How much vanilla butter do I need for this recipe?
The recipe calls for 75 g. Our blocks are 4.4 oz (125 g), so one block covers a dinner for four with 50 g to spare. If you plan to cook it twice, or want butter left for breakfast, order two.
Can I substitute a different butter?
The vanilla is the dish, so a plain butter changes it fundamentally. If you want to cook it anyway, Bordier Salted Butter gives you a straightforward rum-and-cream chicken, and you would season more lightly since the butter brings its own salt. Do not change the quantity.
What rum should I use?
Bordier specifies aged rum. An aged agricole or a dark Caribbean rum both work. Skip white rum, which has nothing to give once the alcohol burns off, and skip spiced rum, whose additives fight the vanilla.
Does Bordier butter need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold. Keep it in the refrigerator and take it out when you start cooking.
How do I store the butter once it is opened?
Wrap the cut face in its own paper or parchment and keep it in the coldest part of the refrigerator, ideally in a closed container so it does not pick up other smells. Use an opened block within about two weeks. Unopened blocks freeze well for up to three months.
Can I make this ahead?
The braise reheats well, gently, over low heat. What does not reheat is the finishing butter, so hold back a small piece and swirl it in just before serving to bring the sauce back to a gloss.
Related reading
- Madagascar Vanilla Butter Brioche
- How to Choose Your French Butter: A Buyer's Guide
- Isigny Sainte-Mère: Normandy's AOP Butter & Crème Guide
Recipe and photograph adapted from Maison Bordier, with thanks. The French Pantry is an authorized US retailer of Bordier butter.