Poulet Sauté à la Durand

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Small saucepan
• •Rimmed sheet pan fitted with a wire rack
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the chicken

   Set the oven to 225°F (110°C) and place a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan inside it; set an oven-safe oval platter alongside to warm. Pat every chicken piece completely dry, then season with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper. Leave the pieces uncovered while you prepare the garnishes, but do not flour them yet. Wet skin makes wet flour, and wet flour cannot give you the crust this dish requires.

   A small chicken cooks evenly enough for this pan method. With a large bird, the breasts become dry before the leg joints are ready.
2. 2

   Cook the concassée

   If using a fresh tomato, score its base, lower it into boiling water for 20 seconds, cool it under cold water, then peel, halve, and seed it. Concassée means roughly chopped: cut the flesh into small, irregular pieces rather than crushing it into purée. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the tomato and ¼ teaspoon of the salt, then cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the juices have evaporated and the tomato holds a soft mound while still gleaming with butter. If it remains watery, keep it over gentle heat; if the butter begins to brown, add 1 teaspoon of water and lower the heat. Keep the concassée warm. Roll the ham slice into a cornet, a neat cone with a generous overlap, and chill it seam-side down so it keeps its shape. Do not fill it yet.

3. 3

   Fry onion rondelles

   Heat ¼ cup (60 ml) of the oil in the wide skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry the onion rondelles in two or three loose batches, turning them as their edges color, until deep golden and lightly crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Crowding traps moisture and gives you limp onions, so leave them room. Drain each batch in a single layer on the warm wire rack, season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and return the rack to the low oven uncovered. If the rings seem soft when lifted from the oil, give them another 30 seconds in the pan rather than trying to dry them under a cover.

4. 4

   Sauté the chicken

   Wipe any onion fragments from the skillet, add the remaining ¾ cup (180 ml) oil, and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the thighs and drumsticks only when the oil is ready, pressing flour onto every surface and then shaking off every loose speck. Lower them into the oil skin-side down and sauté for 18 to 24 minutes, turning every 4 minutes, until the coating is an even Maillard bronze and the meat reaches at least 175°F (80°C) beside the bone. Transfer them to the rack in the low oven. Skim the dark flour crumbs from the oil, restore the heat, then dredge and sauté the breast pieces and wings in the same manner for 12 to 18 minutes, removing each piece when its thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). The oil should remain between 325°F and 350°F (165°C and 175°C). If the crust darkens before the meat is ready, stop frying and finish that piece on the rack in a 350°F (175°C) oven. Ça se rattrape. What you must not do is keep scorching the flour while hoping the center catches up.

   Flour just before frying. A white, dusty crust means the oil was too cool or too much flour remained; a bare patch means the coating was damp before it met the pan.
5. 5

   Build the Durand crown

   Stir the tomato concassée over low heat just until its butter shines again. Arrange the chicken pieces around the edge of the warm platter in a generous crown, alternating light and dark pieces. Heap the fried onion rondelles in the open middle. Nest the ham cornet seam-side down at the center of the onions, then spoon the warm tomato concassée into it, allowing just a little red to show above the rim. Bring the platter straight to the table while the flour crust is still crisp. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a modest chicken weighing about 3 pounds (1.35 kg). Technique first, always. A larger bird gives you handsome pieces but poor timing, because its breasts and leg joints no longer finish together.
• •Use a ripe, meaty plum tomato when it smells properly of tomato. Outside its season, a drained canned whole tomato is the classical pantry's honest answer and usually contains less troublesome water.
• •Ask for one broad, paper-thin slice of mild cooked ham. Smoked ham or dry-cured ham dominates the small spoonful of buttery tomato, while jambon de Paris bends into a cornet without splitting.
• •Serve the Durand immediately. Refrigerated leftovers keep for up to 2 days, but the crust and onions soften; reheat the chicken and onions separately on racks in a 375°F (190°C) oven, then rebuild the platter.
• •A light Beaujolais or a dry Mâconnais white suits the fried crust, sweet onion, and ham without overwhelming the tomato.

Advance Preparation

• •The tomato concassée can be cooked up to 1 day ahead, chilled promptly, and reheated gently until the butter glistens.
• •Shape the ham cornet several hours ahead and keep it chilled seam-side down. Slice the onions and hold the separated rondelles uncovered in the refrigerator so their surfaces remain dry.
• •The chicken may be jointed and seasoned up to 8 hours ahead, then refrigerated uncovered on a rack. Do not dredge or fry it until shortly before serving; the crust is the dish and does not improve by waiting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)