Poularde Chanoinesse

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •40 to 45 cm oval serving platter
• •2 litre heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •25 cm skillet
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Deep roasting tin for the linked preparation's bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small heated sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the poularde

   Have the Poularde Soufflée (No. 1518) finished as its own entry directs, scaled for four and timed to be ready about fifteen minutes before service. When preparing that linked component, reserve eight thin collops of suprême, the breast fillet, before reconstructing the bird. Its mousseline forcemeat must remain refrigerator-cold; if it has softened or become glossy, spread it in a shallow chilled bowl and refrigerate it until firm before stuffing. Ça se rattrape. Keep the finished poularde warm while you complete the garnish, but do not leave it waiting longer than twenty minutes.

   Do not attempt to fold warm forcemeat into the bird. Chilling restores its body, while extra egg or flour would alter the fine texture and the proportions of the linked preparation.
2. 2

   Make crayfish butter

   Set the sixteen intact tails aside in the cold. Break the reserved shells into coarse pieces, then melt the six tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shells and cook for eight minutes, pressing them firmly with a wooden spoon, until the butter turns coral and smells distinctly of crayfish without browning. Add three tablespoons of the measured water and simmer gently for five minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a narrow bowl, pressing hard, then set the bowl over ice until the beurre d'écrevisse, or crayfish butter, separates and begins to firm. Spoon off two generous tablespoons for the Mornay.

   If the butter starts to brown, lower the heat and add the measured water at once. If the shells smell acrid, begin again; scorched shell fat has no honest rescue.
3. 3

   Fry the croûtons

   Cut the bread into eight oval croûtons, small bread pieces fried in butter, each about five centimetres long. Heat the clarified butter in a wide skillet over medium heat and fry the croûtons on both sides until evenly butter-gold, crisp at the edges, and still substantial enough to carry the chicken. Drain them briefly on a clean towel and keep them uncovered so they remain crisp.

4. 4

   Build the Mornay

   Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan, add the flour, and stir for two minutes without allowing it to colour. This roux blanc, a pale butter-and-flour base, must cook long enough to lose its raw taste. Whisk in all but the reserved cold milk in three additions, smoothing each one before adding the next, then simmer gently for five minutes until the sauce nappes the spoon, coating it in a clean ivory layer. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the Gruyère and Parmesan, then add two tablespoons of crayfish butter a little at a time. Season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Never boil the sauce after the cheese and crayfish butter enter. If it turns oily at the rim, set the pan in cool water and whisk in the reserved cold milk one spoonful at a time until the emulsion closes again.

   Hold the finished Mornay over barely warm water, not direct heat. It should remain fluid enough to pour in a broad ribbon, never thick enough to sit like paste.
5. 5

   Warm the garnish

   Put the remaining tablespoon of measured water in a clean skillet and add the crayfish tails and reserved suprême collops. Cover and warm over the lowest heat for thirty to forty-five seconds, just until they lose their chill. Drain immediately. They are already cooked, and simmering would turn the crayfish firm and the delicate chicken dry.

6. 6

   Build the border

   Transfer the warm Poularde Soufflée (No. 1518) to the centre of a heated oval platter, keeping its truffle-scented coating and decoration intact. Arrange eight small heaps of two crayfish tails around it, alternating each heap with a fried croûton. Place one warm collop of suprême on every croûton, then finish each collop with one thin slice of black truffle. Work neatly but promptly; this is generous food, not plating theater.

7. 7

   Serve the sauce

   Pour the warm crayfish-butter Mornay into a heated sauceboat and serve it separately, exactly as the dish requires. Do not blanket the border before it reaches the table, because the croûtons must remain crisp and each guest should spoon the sauce over their own portion. Bring the poularde in whole, carve through the soft filling with a broad spoon, and give everyone crayfish, croûton, suprême, and truffle. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy whole cooked crayfish, fresh or frozen and properly thawed, because the tails supply the border and the shells supply the beurre d'écrevisse. Packaged tail meat gives you only half the dish.
• •A preserved whole black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles are not in season. Drain it well and slice it thinly. Truffle oil is perfume without substance and does not belong here.
• •The Mornay is deliberately served separately. Pouring it over the assembled border too early softens the croûtons and hides the careful alternation that defines Chanoinesse.
• •Use real butter, whole milk, Gruyère, and Parmesan. Fat substitutes cannot carry the shell flavour or hold the final emulsion. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Serve a dry, full-bodied Chardonnay, such as a white Burgundy with enough acidity to meet the cheese, foie gras, and crayfish without making the sauce feel heavy.

Advance Preparation

• •The time fields cover the Chanoinesse garnish and sauce once the Poularde Soufflée (No. 1518) is ready. Begin that linked preparation according to its own timing, then make the crayfish butter during its poaching period.
• •The beurre d'écrevisse can be made up to three days ahead, covered and refrigerated. Melt it only until soft enough to whisk into the Mornay.
• •The poularde may be reconstructed several hours before its final poaching if it is covered and kept thoroughly cold. This rest helps the forcemeat firm, but the finished dish should be timed close to service rather than reheated repeatedly.
• •The croûtons can be fried up to four hours ahead and kept uncovered at room temperature. Refresh them for two minutes in a moderate oven before topping them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 365g)