Poularde à la Monte Carlo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 8 quart (5.7 to 7.6 L) snug stockpot
• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •Large bowl set over ice
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Two dessert spoons for shaping quenelles
• •Two medium saucepans and one wide shallow pan
• •Large oval serving platter, about 16 inches (40 cm)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pink mousseline

   Chill the food processor bowl, blade, a fine-mesh sieve, and a mixing bowl for 15 minutes. Process the cold diced chicken with 1 egg white, ¾ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the white pepper, and the nutmeg until smooth, sticky, and still cold. Scrape the paste firmly through the chilled sieve into the bowl, then set that bowl over ice. Work in ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) of the cream a spoonful at a time, adding only enough of the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) to make a glossy paste that holds a soft peak. Tint it with one drop of rose gel, adding the second only if needed; the color should be a gentle pink, not red. If the mixture turns grainy, it has warmed. Stop, chill it over ice for 10 minutes, then pulse in 1 teaspoon of the reserved second egg white. Ça se rattrape. Cover directly and refrigerate while the poularde poaches.

   Cold is the structure of a mousseline. If the chicken paste becomes warm, the fat and liquid separate, and no amount of frantic processing will improve it.
2. 2

   Poach the poularde gently

   Truss the poularde compactly so it keeps its shape. Put it breast-side up in a snug 6 to 8 quart (5.7 to 7.6 L) stockpot with the chicken stock, carrot, leek, onion, celery, bouquet garni, and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Add only enough cold water to cover the bird by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring the liquid up slowly, skimming away pale foam, then hold it between 180 and 185°F (82 and 85°C), where the surface barely trembles. A hard boil clouds the liquor, toughens the breast, and tears the skin. If it boils, pull the pot off the heat, add a little cold water, and return it over lower heat. Cook for 50 to 65 minutes, beginning to check early, until both the deepest breast and thickest part of the thigh register 165°F (74°C) without touching bone. Lift the bird carefully onto a tray, cover with buttered parchment and foil, and hold it in a 170°F (75°C) oven for no more than 30 minutes. Strain the poaching liquor and keep it hot.

3. 3

   Draw the mushroom liquor

   While the poularde poaches, put the sliced white mushrooms in a small saucepan with ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) cold water, 1 tablespoon of the butter, 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice, and a small pinch of salt. Cover and simmer very gently for 8 minutes without allowing the mushrooms or butter to color. Strain the pale cooking liquor without pressing hard on the mushrooms, which would cloud it. Reserve the liquor for the Sauce Suprême; the mushrooms have given what this sauce needs and can be cooled for an omelette or another supper.

4. 4

   Shape and poach quenelles

   Bring a wide pan of the strained poultry liquor to 175 to 180°F (79 to 82°C). Poach a teaspoon of the mousseline first and taste it. It should be light, moist, and seasoned clearly. If it is rubbery, fold another tablespoon of cold cream into the paste; if it spreads, chill the paste for 10 minutes, then work in reserved egg white a teaspoon at a time and test again. Dip two dessert spoons in the hot liquor and use them to form 8 smooth oval quenelles. Poach them in two uncrowded batches for 7 to 9 minutes, turning once, until they feel resilient rather than bouncy and reach 165°F (74°C) at the center. Hold them in a shallow dish under a little warm poaching liquor.

5. 5

   Finish the Sauce Suprême

   Measure 4 cups (960 ml / 960 g) of strained poultry liquor into a wide saucepan and reduce it briskly to 3 cups (720 ml / 720 g). In a second saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over low heat and stir in the flour. Cook this roux blanc, a white roux, for 2 to 3 minutes until it smells faintly of warm biscuits but has taken no color. Whisk in the hot reduced liquor gradually, followed by the reserved mushroom liquor, and simmer gently for 12 minutes, skimming as needed. Add 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the cream and simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon in an even ivory layer. Strain it into a clean warm pan. Season with the remaining 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, white pepper, and salt, then remove it from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of cold butter. Do not boil it again. If the sauce separates, put 2 tablespoons of cold cream in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken sauce one ladleful at a time. Ça se rattrape. If it is too thick, loosen it with hot poaching liquor; if too thin, reduce it before adding the finishing butter.

6. 6

   Warm the black truffles

   Put the whole truffles in a small covered pan with ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of hot poaching liquor and the final tablespoon of butter. Warm fresh truffles at the barest simmer for 5 minutes, turning once; preserved truffles need only 2 minutes. Lift them out and roll them through the melted butter until their black surfaces gleam. Keep their dark cooking liquor away from the Sauce Suprême, where it would turn the ivory sauce gray.

7. 7

   Compose the three colors

   Warm a large oval platter, remove the trussing string, and settle the poularde breast-side up at the center. Spoon enough Sauce Suprême over it to cover the bird completely in a smooth ivory coat, keeping the remaining sauce warm in a sauceboat. If the sauce slides away and leaves bare patches, reduce it for another minute; if it sits like paste, loosen it with a spoonful of hot liquor. Drain the pink mousseline quenelles carefully and arrange them in a close crescent along one side of the poularde. Set the glossy whole black truffles along the other. Add no chopped herbs and scatter nothing over the sauce. Pink, black, ivory: the contrast is the dish. Present it whole, then carve at the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a specially fattened young hen with generous breast meat and fine-grained flesh. Ask a good butcher, but don't abandon the dish if none is available; a plump roasting chicken under 4½ lb (2 kg) is the honest home equivalent, and careful poaching matters more than the pedigree.
• •Choose pale, unsalted chicken stock. A dark roasted stock makes a splendid brown sauce but the wrong Sauce Suprême; if packaged stock is deep amber, dilute it with water until straw-colored and let the poularde enrich it during the poach.
• •The source demands pink chicken mousseline, not a shellfish forcemeat. Classical kitchens used carmine because it colored without seasoning; one or two drops of neutral rose gel preserves that intent without adding the earthy taste of beet or the orange cast of tomato.
• •Fresh black truffles are magnificent in season, while preserved whole black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer at other times. Truffle oil cannot replace them here because the black border is architecture as well as aroma.
• •Pour a mature white Burgundy with enough freshness to meet the cream and enough breadth for the truffles. Keep the rest of the meal restrained. This poularde has already made its entrance.

Advance Preparation

• •The pale chicken stock, prepared vegetables, bouquet garni, and cleaned truffles can be ready a day ahead and kept cold.
• •The mousseline paste can be made up to 4 hours ahead, covered directly, and held at 34 to 38°F (1 to 3°C). The quenelles can instead be poached a day ahead, cooled quickly in a shallow dish over ice, refrigerated in a little strained liquor, and rewarmed gently before service.
• •The mushroom cooking liquor and roux blanc can be prepared earlier on the serving day. Finish the Sauce Suprême with cream and butter only during the final 15 minutes, since prolonged holding dulls its gloss and encourages separation.
• •Poach the poularde on the day it will be served. Do not cool a whole bird slowly in its broth; it takes too long to pass safely through warm temperatures and softens the skin needed for a clean presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 675g)