Definition

1. Noun:

   • A dish consisting of pieces of meat, typically chicken or veal, that are stewed in a white sauce or gravy, often with vegetables such as carrots and onions, and usually served with noodles, dumplings, or rice.

2. Verb:

   • To prepare meat by cutting it into pieces and stewing it in a sauce or gravy, typically using the method for making a fricassee.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • For dinner, she prepared a delicious chicken fricassee with carrots and peas.
  • The classic veal fricassee is a staple of French home cooking.

• Verb:

  • The recipe instructs you to fricassee the rabbit before adding the cream.
  • I'm going to fricassee this chicken for the stew.

Advanced Usage

• As a culinary term: "Fricassee" specifically denotes a cooking method that is a hybrid between sautéing and stewing. The meat is first sautéed without browning and then finished by stewing in a liquid.
  • The chef demonstrated the proper technique to fricassee, emphasizing not to let the butter color.

Variants and Related Words

• Fricasseed (adj, past participle): Describes meat that has been cooked in this manner.
  • The fricasseed chicken was tender and flavorful.

Synonyms

• Stew (noun/verb): A more general term for food cooked slowly in liquid.
• Ragout (noun): A well-seasoned stew of meat and vegetables.

Notes on Different Meanings

• The term is almost exclusively used in a culinary context. There are no significant idiomatic or phrasal verb uses. Its meaning is consistent, referring specifically to this dish or its preparation method.

Noun

1. pieces of chicken or other meat stewed in gravy with e.g. carrots and onions and served with noodles or dumplings

Verb

1. make a fricassee of by cooking
   • fricassee meats