Chicken Rene
Inspired by the dish from Copeland’s of New Orleans, Chicken Rene features garlic butter pasta topped with fried chicken, mushrooms, crab and crawfish. It’s delicious!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It takes a bit of time to make it, and you’ll create some dishes in the process. But don’t let that slow you down – this Chicken Rene recipe is delicious!
As far as I can tell, Chicken Rene isn’t really a thing. There aren’t many (any?) recipes floating around the interwebs. Most people have likely never even heard of it. So what’s the deal with this recipe?
Chicken Rene is a staple menu item at Copelands of New Orleans. Copeland’s is technically a chain restaurant, but they only have 10 locations scattered throughout Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. I wish they had more locations – they make some delicious Cajun-inspired dishes!
Chicken Rene
Back when I lived in Louisiana, Chicken Rene was one of my favorite dishes to order at Copelands. According to their menu, Chicken Rene is “Fried chicken breast topped with seasoned crawfish tails and lump crab meat tossed in a mushroom hollandaise served over garlic butter angel hair pasta.”
The other day, I was craving Chicken Rene, and I decided to find a recipe for it. After following several internet rabbit holes, I came up completely empty. Fortunately, the Copelands description is pretty specific…so I decided to recreate it here at home! *Disclosure: This is not a copycat recipe of Copeland’s Chicken Rene. This recipe is inspired by the Copeland’s version.*
Fried Chicken Breast
Ok. So the first part is easy enough. Fried chicken. I opted for a classic version of fried chicken. Pound the chicken breast into thin pieces. Dip the chicken into flour, egg and then panko breadcrumbs. Fry for several minutes per side. Easy peasy. (Since this recipe has a number of parts, I popped that chicken into a low-temperature oven to keep it warm while making the rest of the recipe.)
Mushroom Hollandaise Sauce
So things get a little more involved at this step – but not much harder. The hardest part is just finding crawfish tails. Fortunately, crawfish seems to have become a bit more accessible lately. I’ve found crawfish tails in the freezer section at several grocery stores. If crawfish is not available, shrimp could be a suitable replacement. (Just make sure the shrimp get fully cooked.)
While the mushrooms, onions, crabmeat and crawfish tails sauteed in a pan, I whipped up a hollandaise sauce in another pan. Hollandaise sauce might sound fancy, but it’s honestly pretty easy to make. Egg yolks, butter, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. And it’s ready in just a few minutes!
That hollandaise sauce gets mixed into the crabmeat and crawfish mixture. Almost done!
Garlic Butter Angel Hair Pasta
The last component to Chicken Rene is the pasta. Angel hair pasta that gets mixed with garlic butter. Not too hard at all. I also added some Italian seasonings into the pasta for extra flavor. Divide that pasta onto plates. Add a piece of fried chicken. Add several spoonfuls of the mushroom-crab-crawfish sauce. Sprinkle with chopped green onions. Done!
Was this recipe easy to make? That’s a complicated question. Each component of the recipe is fairly easy…but there are several components. I recommend saving this recipe for a day when you feel like cooking up something fun. You know, those days when you want to spend a bit of time in the kitchen cooking something unique. Chicken Rene is certainly unique! And it’s absolutely delicious, too.
How to Save Leftovers
Leftovers of this Chicken Rene dish should be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator. If possible, try to store the pasta, chicken and hollandaise sauce in 3 separate containers. That’ll make life a lot easier when reheating the leftovers. I do not recommend freezing the leftovers.
If you’re looking for a delicious Cajun recipe, then hang on to this recipe for Chicken Rene. It features chicken, crab and crawfish all served over garlic butter pasta. Yum!
Did you make this Chicken Rene at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Chicken Rene
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- 16 oz. angel hair pasta
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1½ tsp minced garlic
- 1½ tsp dried Italian seasonings
- Chopped fresh green onions for garnishing
For the Fried Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ~1½-2 pounds total
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1½ cups panko-style Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½-1 cup vegetable or canola oil for frying
For the Mushrooms, Crab and Crawfish
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz. sliced button mushrooms
- ½ cup thinly sliced yellow onions
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 6 oz. lump crabmeat fully cooked and rinsed
- 6 oz. crawfish tails fully cooked and rinsed
For the Hollandaise Sauce
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
For the Pasta
- Using a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.
- Drain pasta and set aside.
For the Fried Chicken
- Working with one chicken breast at a time, lay it between two pieces of plastic wrap and then pound thin using a kitchen mallet until ~ ½” thick. (Tip: A rolling pin works great here…just make sure to clean it with soap and water afterwards!) Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Spread flour onto large plate.
- Spread breadcrumbs onto a separate large plate.
- Pour beaten egg into a separate shallow bowl.
- Using a large cast iron skillet, add 1” of oil and place over medium-high heat. (Tip: To determine when oil is hot enough, drop a pinch of breadcrumbs into the oil. If it bubbles up immediately, then the oil is hot enough. If the oil begins to smoke at any point, immediately reduce heat.)
- Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip both sides of the chicken first into the flour, then into the beaten egg and then finally into the breadcrumb mixture. Place the chicken into the skillet. (Note: I typically do this in 2 batches of 2 breasts each so as not to overcrowd the skillet.)
- Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, or until both sides are golden brown. (If you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature should register 160°F.)
- Place fried chicken on a paper-towel lined plate in a 250°F oven to keep warm until needed.
For the Mushrooms, Crab and Crawfish
- Using a large, deep skillet, add butter and olive oil; place skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add mushrooms and onions; sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes.
- Add garlic, crabmeat and crawfish tails; stir until well combined. Continue sauteing until heated through, approximately 5-6 more minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and keep warm until needed.
For the Hollandaise Sauce
- Using a small saucepan, add egg yolks, lemon juice, water, mustard and salt; whisk until well combined.
- Cut butter into small pieces and add to saucepan.
- Place pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes, or until butter melts and mixture thickens. (Note: The sauce should coat the back of a wooden spoon when ready.)
For Serving
- Using a large skillet, add olive oil and butter; place skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once butter has melted, add garlic; sauté, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.
- Add cooked pasta (from above) and Italian seasonings; stir until well combined.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until pasta is heated through.
- Divide pasta onto plates and top with fried chicken breasts.
- Stir Hollandaise Sauce into the skillet with the mushrooms, crab and crawfish; toss until well combined.
- Add several spoonfuls of hollandaise mixture on top of chicken.
- Garnish with chopped green onions before serving.
Notes
Looking for more Cajun recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Thanks for making me hungry and I love mushrooms and pasta BTW cant wait to make your recipes soon for me
This is the ultimate pasta recipe for sure – I hope you enjoy it, Ramya!
This sounds wonderful! Now to find crawfish…
Thanks, Mimi! Check any national grocery stores in your area. Crawfish tails are becoming a bit more common. I’ve seen them in the seafood section at our local Walmart of all places…and they were Gulf crawfish, not the ones from China. In a pinch, small shrimp will work in this recipe, too!
This dish sounds wonderful! I love all of the components. The only thing I would do differently would be to slice the fried chicken before putting it on the pasta, which would make it much easier to eat.
That makes a lot of sense about slicing the chicken before serving. I’ll keep that in mind next time. Thanks, Barb!
What a unique blend of ingredients! I think you did a magnificent job of sleuthing it all out and putting it all together!
Why thank you very much, Jeff! I had fun breaking this recipe down into its individual components. And it turned out really well, too!
Great job creating a recipe for this dish! Looks so delicious, and makes me want to visit the South!
The South is definitely full of delicious food! It’s hard to beat fried chicken on top of garlic noodles with a crawfish sauce in there, too! 🙂
I haven’t heard of this name (which is not surprising given the background information you’ve provided haha). This looks and sounds quite fantastic and intriguing. I’m particularly intrigued by the combo of mushrooms, crab, and crawfish – it sounds rich and sophisticated. Really great job on recreation this dish!
Yeah, I think Copeland’s just made up this name as I’ve never heard it either. That’s cool. I don’t care what you call it…it’s delicious! 🙂
good job David on your recreation. It sounds amazing. And yes unique. I am a fan of chicken and of shellfish so this is right up my alley. Sadly Mr P. is not a seafood fan, so i have to leave such dishes to restaurants …
sherry
Well I wonder if you could serve Mr. P’s without seafood, and then you keep all the seafood for your plate? I bet it could be done! Thanks, Sherry!
Yum! Chicken Rene sounds like my kind of dish!! Worth all the work.
It definitely is a bit more involved of a recipe…but totally worth it with all of the flavors going on. Thanks, Dawn!
I would be very happy if this was my last meal! Everything I love is in this dish! Rene and I could easily become good friends!
Haha – well, let’s hope this isn’t your last meal! It’s definitely a good one, though. And, yes, I think Rene and I have become best friends!! 🙂
OEMGEE!!!! I remember Copelands! I used to work in the Cumberland area a while ago and we would go there for lunch – their stuff was SO GOOD! I don’t remember all the dishes I tried when we ate there – but there wasn’t a bad one ever! And – your recreation of one of their dishes is well worth the extra time and effort – sounds absolutely delicious!
Copeland’s was always a favorite of ours, too! Sure, it’s a ‘chain restaurant,’ but I felt like the food was a bit better than your typical chain restaurant. This was a fun recreation here at home, and it was absolutely deeeelicious!
Wow David, I love every element of this dish, and chicken and seafood combine beautifully. I would just use prawns I think. You did an amazing job with it.
Yes, I imagine crawfish might be difficult to find where you are, but I do think prawns (small ones) would be a perfectly fine substitution!
This Chicken Rene recipe sounds absolutely indulgent, definitely not for the faint of heart! I love how you took inspiration from Copeland’s but added your own twist. The crispy fried chicken combined with that rich mushroom hollandaise sauce and the garlic butter pasta is just a dream.
This recipe is definitely a bit more involved, but I think it’s worth the effort! The flavors all come together to create a fantastic dinner. Thanks, Raymund!