The Crown is a must visit spot that’s been around since 1976. They do lunch and desserts in a small antique shop, and the dish you’ve got try is the catfish Allison or the chicken Allison. We got approval from Miss Jennifer to share their recipe for Chicken Allison in case you can’t make it to the delta. It's an incredible combination of tender chicken and super browned butter sauce.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Serves |
20 minutes | 45 minutes | 3-4 people |
Chicken Allison
1 lb chicken tenderloin
1 tsp salt
1 lemon
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorn
Allison Butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp mayo
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp tabasco
1 -2 green onions
Buttered Rice
1 cup medium grain rice (washed)
1 tbsp butter
Brown Butter Green Beans (per serving)
1/2 lb green beans, cleaned and cut into pieces
1 tbsp butter
Squeeze of lemon juice
Step 1: Allison Butter
The Allison Butter is the best part of this. It’s easy to make, and it can be made way beforehand if needed. In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, 2 tbsp of mayo, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese (the green shakey cheese), 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tsp of tabasco. Season this with salt and pepper for good measure We’ll also add about 1-2 green onions super finely diced. The cool thing about this butter is how well everything works together. As a list of ingredients, it almost seems like it wouldn’t work, but the magic happens when it browns under the broiler. It melts and becomes deeply brown and flavorful.
Step 2: Poach Chicken
One thing I always do with tenders is remove then tendon that runs through the meat. It’s like a rubber band that sits in the middle of the meat. Grab a paper towel to help hold the tendon, then place your knife on the tendon to weigh it down. Use the paper towel to pull on the tendon, and the knife should cut it out as the meat slides back. Set the prepped tenders aside.
Into a pot, add about 1 quart of water, 1 tsp of salt, 1 lemon, a few bay leaves, 1 tsp of black peppercorn, and feel free to throw in any hard herbs you’ve got like thyme or rosemary. Bring this to a simmer and add the prepped chicken tenders. These need about 6 minutes in the simmering water to cook but not overcook. Remember, these will be placed under the broiler, so if they’re overcooked now, they’re gonna be so tough in the end. Remove these and let them cool.
Step 3: Make Rice and Green Beans
Wash 1 cup of rice until the water runs clear. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Just like pasta, season this with a bunch of salt. Add the rice and cook for around 15 minutes. This is essentially the same as boiling pasta. The really nice thing about this method is that you can just eat a spoon of rice to see if it’s cooked enough. Once tender, drain the rice and add it back to the pot with a big ole knob of butter. Mix this together so the butter melts into the grains and that’s how you get super tasty rice that’s got nice distinct grains.
In a sauté pan over medium, add 1 cup of water and bring that to a simmer. Add the beans and cook these for about 4 minutes. Remove them from the pan, and place them in ice water to chill. This will help them retain the nice bright green color. Toss the water from the pan and begin melting 2 tbsp of unsalted butter until foamy. Continue cooking it until it browns, and then gets close to becoming burnt. Once right at the edge, add in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Be careful not to splatter the hot butter on yourself. Mix that in and then add the beans back to the pan to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Broil Chicken
You can now combine the tender poached chicken and the prepared butter. Place the chicken onto a sheet tray and apply a few spoonfuls of the butter on each one. These can head into into the oven to broil.
Broil these until the butter mixture has browned deeply; all of the delicious brown nutty flavor will come from this stage. If you’re broiler is a little hotter on one side, be sure to rotate the tray as you go. Dark brown is what you're looking for, not golden. Once there, remove the tray from the oven and serve the chicken with the melted butter on top of the rice. Beans go on the side and the goal is to use the rice as a vehicle for delicious brown butter sauce. It's a classic for a reason, and you should definitely head to The Crown for the original if you're near the Mississippi Delta.
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