Poularde Isabelle de France

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Snug 6-quart oval pot or Dutch oven
• •Instant-read probe thermometer
• •Two medium saucepans
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Parchment paper
• •Kitchen string or poultry trussing needle
• •Oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the rizotto

   Warm 1¼ cups of the chicken stock. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, add the rice, and stir for 2 minutes until every grain is glossy but none has browned. Add the warm stock in three additions, stirring gently and letting each addition absorb before adding the next. Cook for 14 to 17 minutes, until the grains are just al dente and the rizotto is cohesive rather than wet. Season with ¼ teaspoon each of salt and white pepper, then spread it on a tray so it cools quickly. When it is no warmer than room temperature, fold in all two ounces of sliced truffle and all eighteen crayfish tails without crushing either.

   The rizotto must be cool before it enters the bird. Warm stuffing encourages uneven cooking, while refrigerator-cold stuffing makes the centre slow to reach a safe temperature. Cool room temperature is exactly right.
2. 2

   Stuff the poularde

   Pat the poularde dry inside and out. Season the cavity with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper, then spoon in the rizotto loosely, leaving room for the rice to swell slightly. Close the cavity with a small skewer or kitchen string and truss the legs against the body. Season the outside with another ½ teaspoon salt. If the stuffing will not fit without packing, stop. Ça se rattrape: put the remainder in a buttered ramekin, cover it, and cook it beside the pot until its centre reaches 165°F (74°C). Forced stuffing cooks slowly and squeezes out the juices you worked to build.

3. 3

   Poach at a tremble

   Reserve 1 cup of the remaining cool stock. Pour the rest into a snug 6-quart pot with the entire bottle of Chablis and heat it to about 180°F (82°C), when the surface shows only an occasional lazy bubble. Lower in the poularde breast-side up; the liquid should nearly cover it, so move to a narrower pot if necessary rather than diluting the wine. Cover with a parchment cartouche and set the lid slightly ajar. Poach for 80 to 95 minutes, maintaining 175 to 185°F (79 to 85°C), until both the deepest part of the thigh and the centre of the stuffing reach 165°F (74°C). If the liquor begins to boil, pull the pot off the heat, ladle out a cup of hot liquid, and replace it with some reserved cool stock. Ça se rattrape. Return the pot only when the surface is calm.

   Begin checking after 70 minutes and insert the thermometer into the stuffing through the cavity opening. A browned skin is not the aim here; the pale bird will be coated with sauce suprême.
4. 4

   Glaze the truffles

   While the poularde poaches, put the four whole truffles and Champagne in the smallest saucepan that holds them snugly. Cover with parchment and simmer very gently for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and reduce the Champagne to about 3 tablespoons, turning the truffles occasionally, then swirl in 1 tablespoon butter. The glaze should cling lightly, not boil into caramel. Set the truffles aside in their glaze and keep them covered.

5. 5

   Fry the croûtons

   Cut four rounds about 2½ inches wide from the bread. Press the centre of each round gently with the back of a teaspoon to make a shallow hollow without piercing the base. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and fry the croûtons over medium heat until crisp and deep gold on both sides, adding a little more measured butter if the pan goes dry. Hold them on a rack so their undersides remain crisp. These croûtons are not decorative fuss; their hollows catch the truffle’s Champagne glaze.

6. 6

   Build the suprême

   Lift the cooked poularde from the pot, let its cavity drain back into the liquor, and rest it loosely covered on a warm tray. Strain 3 cups of the cooking liquor into a wide saucepan, boil it for 3 minutes, then reduce it to 2 cups. In a second saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter, stir in the flour, and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes without allowing it to colour. Whisk in the reduced liquor gradually and simmer for 8 minutes. Add 1 cup of the cream and simmer until the sauce reaches a nappant, coating consistency. Season assertively with the lemon juice and the remaining salt and white pepper, then take it off the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons cold butter. If it is thin, reduce it; if too tight, loosen it with cooking liquor. If it turns lumpy, strain it. If it looks oily after the butter goes in, remove it from all heat and whisk in the reserved cold cream one tablespoon at a time. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Dress the platter

   Warm an oval serving platter and a sauceboat. Remove the trussing from the poularde, set the bird directly on the platter, and coat it with enough sauce suprême to leave a generous ivory gloss. The original cushion was useful service architecture for a grand platter, but the warm platter is its honest home equivalent. Arrange the four croûtons around the bird, nestle one Champagne-glazed truffle in each hollow, and spoon their remaining glaze over them. Pour the rest of the sauce into the sauceboat. Carve at the table, giving each guest poultry, crayfish-and-truffle rizotto, one truffle croûton, and more sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for a poularde if your butcher can bring one in: a plump, well-fattened young hen has the broad breast and supple fat this gentle poach rewards. A good roasting chicken of the same weight will work, though it may finish sooner. Technique first, always.
• •The dish truly needs black truffle. When fresh truffles are out of season, use whole preserved black truffles and preserved slices from a reputable jar, adding their clean packing liquor to the Champagne pan. Truffle oil is not an equivalent.
• •Frozen cooked crayfish tails are the honest home answer to the brigade’s basket of live crayfish and extra hands for shelling. Thaw them in the cold, drain them thoroughly, and pat them dry so they do not water the rizotto.
• •Use a lean, mineral Chablis, not a heavily oaked wine. The full bottle goes into the pot because its acidity must survive stock, cream, and butter. Buy a second bottle if you want Chablis at the table; the remainder of the Champagne makes a proper apéritif.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Keep the poultry, stuffing, and sauce separately for up to 3 days, then reheat the meat and stuffing covered with a spoonful of stock until they reach 165°F (74°C). Warm the sauce gently and whisk in a little cream if it has tightened.

Advance Preparation

• •The pale chicken stock may be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen well in advance. Keep it unsalted because the poaching liquor will be reduced for the sauce.
• •The rizotto may be cooked up to 4 hours ahead. Spread it in a shallow layer, chill it promptly, and fold in the crayfish and sliced truffle shortly before stuffing. Never stuff the raw bird until you are ready to poach it.
• •The croûtons may be fried earlier the same day and held uncovered. Recrisp them for a few minutes in a dry skillet before plating.
• •The whole truffles may be poached in Champagne up to 2 hours ahead. Keep them covered in their reduced glaze and warm them gently while the sauce suprême is finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 575g)