Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
John Dory has the delicacy of sole and the firmness of turbot. A light flouring, a quick butter sauté, and nut-brown beurre noisette show exactly why looks never mattered.
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Suprêmes
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1581, Suprêmes, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Suprêmes de volaille sautés teach the Paris rule of tender breast meat: flour lightly, gild quickly in clarified butter, add no liquid, and carry the plates straight from skillet to table.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
15 min
Active Time
8 min cook•23 min total
Yield4 servings
Suprêmes de volaille sautés (quick-sautéed chicken breast fillets) teach one exacting and useful rule: tender breast meat wants almost no liquid and absolutely no wait. A suprême should leave the pan evenly gilded, juicy through the centre, and shining with butter. Let moisture bubble around it or leave it standing, and it becomes dry with astonishing efficiency.
The original entry assumed small, fleshy chickens, a cook dividing each breast along the sternum, clarified butter already waiting, and service timed to the second. It calls on none of the usual brigade supports, not a saucier on staff, not stock kept hot, not a salamander. At home, four small, evenly flattened breasts and one wide skillet are the honest equivalents. The heart-shaped trimming and tenderloin crescents contisés (slipped with slices of truffle) are brigade scaffolding, so they can go. The flour, very hot clarified butter, rapid cooking, and immediate service are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Before the pan heats, make the suprêmes an even thickness and have every plate and accompaniment ready. That preparation is what allows the meat to gild at the same moment it cooks through. If the chicken must wait for the table, the plan is already wrong.
Suprême belongs to the vocabulary of the Parisian classical kitchen rather than to a provincial larder, and fillet and suprême traditionally name the same skinned breast portion divided along the sternum. On a small chicken the large and minion fillets remained together; from a larger bird the minion fillet could be removed, cleared of its tendon, contisé with truffle, and curved into a decorative garnish. The name is sometimes mistaken for a rich sauce, but it identifies a cut and its discipline: nearly dry cooking followed by immediate service.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Quantity
4 (about 5 oz / 140 g each; 1¼ lb / 560 g total)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 40 g)
for a very light coating
clarified unsalted butter
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 56 g)
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves | 4 (about 5 oz / 140 g each; 1¼ lb / 560 g total) |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| all-purpose flourfor a very light coating | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 40 g) |
| clarified unsalted butterdivided | ¼ cup (60 ml / 56 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch / 30 cm heavy skillet
- •Flat meat mallet or rolling pin
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Four oven-safe dinner plates
Instructions
- 1
Ready the service
Warm four dinner plates in a 200°F / 95°C oven, finish every accompaniment, and call everyone toward the table before cooking the chicken. Suprêmes don't improve while waiting. Set a clean serving utensil beside the stove so the finished meat can travel directly from skillet to plate.
This mise en place is part of the technique, not household fuss. A warm plate and a ready table protect the tenderness you are about to build. - 2
Shape the suprêmes
Pat the breasts thoroughly dry. Place them between sheets of parchment and tap only the thickest parts with a flat meat mallet or rolling pin until each piece is an even ½ inch / 1.25 cm thick. Don't pound them into thin cutlets; you are equalising the thickness so the centre cooks before the surface darkens. If using unusually large modern breasts, cut them into four neat portions before flattening, just as the classical entry divides an oversized pullet breast.
- 3
Flour at last moment
Season both sides with the salt. Spread the flour in a shallow dish, coat each suprême lightly, then shake off every loose patch. The flour should be a veil, not a crust. Do this immediately before cooking because flour left sitting on damp meat becomes paste and prevents clean gilding. Discard the flour that touched the raw chicken.
- 4
Gild fast in butter
Heat a wide, heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the clarified butter; when it shimmers and runs freely across the pan, lay in the suprêmes smooth-side down without letting them touch. Cook undisturbed for 2½ to 3 minutes, turn once, and cook the second side for another 2 to 3 minutes. They are ready when both sides are butter-gold, the meat feels resilient, and the thickest point reaches 165°F / 74°C. The meat cooks and gilds at the same moment. If the butter darkens before the chicken colours, lower the heat slightly. If the pan fills with liquid, lift the chicken onto a separate plate at once, carefully drain the liquid, return the skillet to the heat until dry, and add the reserved butter before finishing the meat. Ça se rattrape. Never let that moisture boil around the suprêmes.
- 5
Serve without waiting
Move each suprême directly to a warmed plate, gilded side up. If the butter remaining in the skillet is clear and golden, spoon a little over the meat while leaving any dark flour sediment behind. Carry the plates to the table immediately and cut the chicken only when it is being eaten, so its juices remain where they belong. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose four genuinely small breasts if you can. Large modern breasts cook unevenly unless divided into regular portions and gently flattened, an adjustment the classical entry itself allows for larger birds.
- •Clarified butter is the right fat because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the pan to become hot enough for quick gilding without scorching. Use real clarified butter, not margarine or a butter-flavoured substitute.
- •A crowded skillet traps moisture. The four portions should lie flat without touching; if your pan is smaller than 12 inches / 30 cm, use two skillets rather than cooking a batch that must wait for the next one.
- •This recipe follows the sautéed branch of the entry. Suprêmes sans coloration, the colourless preparation, belong to a separate covered-oven method; combining the two produces pale flour, wet meat, and none of the virtues of either.
- •A dry Chablis or another restrained French Chardonnay suits the butter and delicate chicken. Keep the accompaniment ready and simple, such as green beans or potatoes, because the suprêmes dictate the timing.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken may be portioned and flattened up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then pat it dry and season only when the skillet is nearly ready.
- •Clarify the butter and measure the flour earlier in the day. Finish all side dishes before cooking the suprêmes.
- •Do not cook the chicken ahead for reheating. The shortest hold hardens it, and reheating cannot return the tenderness lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 130g)
Calories
330 calories
Total Fat
18 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
140 mg
Sodium
655 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
33 g
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