Poularde à l’Écossaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5½ to 6 quart (5 to 5.7 L) snug stockpot with lid
• •2 quart (2 L) heavy saucepan
• •Wide sauté pan for reducing the poaching liquor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine or a poultry trussing needle
• •Small heatproof plate for keeping the bird submerged

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook and drain barley

   Bring 2 cups (480 ml) of the consommé or stock to a bare simmer. Add the barley and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes, until the grains are tender but remain distinct. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve for 15 minutes, then spread the barley in a thin layer on a tray until completely cool. Weigh out 180 g of cooked barley so its weight precisely matches the sausage meat. This is the principle that decides the stuffing: if the barley still sheds moisture when pressed, toss it in a broad dry pan over low heat for a minute or two, then cool it again. Wet barley turns the filling to paste.

2. 2

   Build the stuffing

   Melt 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter over low heat and cook the finely chopped onion for 7 to 9 minutes without coloring, until soft and sweet. Cool it completely. Combine the onion, 180 g drained barley, 180 g sausage meat, and 2½ teaspoons (12 ml) cream with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon white pepper. Mix only until evenly united, since hard mixing smears the barley. Fry a teaspoonful in a small pan, taste it, and correct the seasoning while you still can.

3. 3

   Stuff and truss

   Pat the poularde dry inside and out. Season the cavity and skin lightly with salt, then spoon in the stuffing without packing it hard; the filling needs enough room to heat evenly. Close the cavity with kitchen twine or a small skewer and truss the legs against the body. Stuff the bird only when the filling is cold, and put it into the pot at once.

4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Place the poularde breast-side up in a snug stockpot and add the remaining 8 cups (1.9 L) consommé or stock. Add only enough cold water to cover it by about 1 inch (2.5 cm); if it floats, hold it beneath the liquid with a small heatproof plate. Bring the liquid up slowly, then maintain it between 180 and 190°F (82 and 88°C), with only an occasional bubble, for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes. The center of the stuffing and the thickest part of the thigh must both reach 165°F (74°C). If the liquid begins to boil hard, pull the pot from the burner, add a small splash of cold water, and return it over lower heat. Boiling tightens the meat, but catching it promptly saves the poach.

5. 5

   Reduce the liquor

   Lift the poularde carefully, letting the cavity drain back into the pot. Set it on a warm ovenproof platter, tent loosely, and hold it in a 200°F (95°C) oven for no longer than 35 minutes. Strain 4 cups (960 ml) of the poaching liquor into a wide pan and skim away the surface fat. Boil it steadily until reduced to 2¼ cups (540 ml), about 20 to 30 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) for adjusting the sauce and use the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) for the Allemande. Taste before reducing further: if the liquor is already well salted, stop before concentration turns it harsh.

6. 6

   Sweat the brunoise

   Melt 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter in a small saucepan. Add the carrot, onion, leek, celery, and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over gentle heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but still sharply cut and without browning. The brunoise should remain visible in the finished sauce, not collapse into it. Set the vegetables aside.

7. 7

   Build the Allemande

   Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter in a heavy saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this white roux for 2 minutes without allowing it to color. Whisk in the 2 cups (480 ml) reduced poaching liquor gradually, taking care to scrape the corners of the pan. Simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce is smooth and coats the back of a spoon. If lumps appear, pass the sauce through a fine sieve and return it to the pan. If it remains thin, reduce it now, before the yolks arrive.

8. 8

   Finish sauce Écossaise

   Whisk the egg yolks with 7 tablespoons (105 ml) of the cream, reserving the final tablespoon cold. Gradually whisk in ½ cup (120 ml) hot Allemande to temper the liaison, then remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk the tempered mixture back into it. Return to very low heat and stir constantly until the sauce thickens slightly, never allowing it to boil. If the first grains appear, remove it immediately, whisk in the reserved cold cream, and set the pan in cold water while whisking; pass it through a fine sieve if needed. Ça se rattrape. Stir in the lemon juice, correct the salt and white pepper, then fold in the brunoise. If the sauce is too tight, loosen it with the reserved poaching liquor.

9. 9

   Cream the beans

   Cook the French beans in generously salted boiling water for 4 to 6 minutes, until tender with a clean bite. Drain them thoroughly. In the dry pan, simmer the ½ cup (120 ml) cream until it lightly coats a spoon, then whisk in 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter. Add the beans, turn them through the cream, and correct the seasoning. Transfer them to a warm serving bowl and keep them separate, exactly as the dish requires.

10. 10

    Coat and serve

    Remove the twine and settle the whole poularde on its warm oval platter. Pour enough sauce Écossaise over the bird to coat it generously, allowing the ivory sauce and colored brunoise to pool around the base. Serve the remaining sauce in a warm boat and the French beans with cream in their separate bowl. The skin is softly pale by design; the sheen and flavor belong to the sauce. Carve at the table so every serving receives stuffing, meat, and sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use pearled barley, not hulled barley. Pearled barley becomes tender within the evening and still holds its shape; hulled barley needs much longer and keeps a tougher outer coat.
• •Ask for fine, plain pork sausage meat without smoke, garlic, sage, or chile. The original relies on pork, onion, cream, and white pepper, and a strongly seasoned breakfast sausage pulls the whole dish away from its intent.
• •A standard plump young chicken is the honest substitute when a true poularde cannot be found. Choose one around 4 lb (1.8 kg), with enough cavity space for the stuffing, and give technique your attention before worrying over pedigree.
• •Use unsalted stock. The poaching liquor is reduced hard enough to become the sauce, so ordinary salted broth can turn severe before it develops the necessary body.
• •A restrained white Burgundy, particularly a Mâconnais Chardonnay without heavy oak, has enough breadth for the cream and sausage without flattening the delicate poached meat.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook, drain, and cool the barley up to one day ahead. Refrigerate it uncovered until cold, then cover it; keeping the surface dry matters more than saving a few minutes.
• •Cut the carrot, onion, leek, and celery into brunoise up to one day ahead and refrigerate them together in a covered container.
• •The French beans can be blanched several hours ahead, refreshed in cold water, dried thoroughly, and chilled. Reheat them only when the cream has reduced.
• •Keep the cold stuffing and raw bird separate until cooking time. Stuffing poultry in advance holds raw sausage in the cavity too long and gives you no advantage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 640g)