Suprêmes de Volaille à la Polignac

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (1.9-liter) heavy saucier or saucepan
• •12-inch (30-cm) ovenproof sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Parchment paper
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the julienne

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Wipe the mushrooms clean, slice them thinly, then stack the slices and cut them julienne-fashion into match-shaped rods about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Cut the truffle the same way and keep it tightly covered so its perfume stays where it belongs. Fold the thin end of each suprême underneath itself rather than pounding the meat; an even shape cooks evenly while preserving the fillet's texture. Cut a round of parchment to fit inside the covered sauté pan and butter one side with a little of the dry-poaching butter.

2. 2

   Build the velouté

   Melt the roux butter in the saucier over medium-low heat without letting it color. Stir in the flour and cook this roux blanc, or white roux, for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until it smells faintly of warm biscuits but remains pale. Hold back 2 tablespoons of stock, then whisk the rest into the roux a little at a time. Bring it just to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 18 to 20 minutes, skimming the surface and stirring along the pan floor. The velouté, the pale stock-bound foundation of sauce suprême, should reduce to about 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g). If the roux forms lumps, take the pan off the heat and whisk firmly, then pass the sauce through the fine-mesh sieve. Ça se rattrape.

   The stock must taste clearly of chicken before it enters the roux. Reduction concentrates everything, including salt, which is why unsalted stock matters here.
3. 3

   Sweat the mushrooms

   While the velouté simmers, melt the mushroom butter in the covered sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the mushroom julienne with a pinch of the measured salt, cover, and let it soften in its own moisture for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently, until the released moisture has evaporated but the mushrooms remain pale. Transfer them to a bowl and wipe out the pan. Browning would muddy the ivory sauce; patience, not high heat.

4. 4

   Dry-poach the suprêmes

   Coat the wiped sauté pan generously with the remaining softened dry-poaching butter. Season the suprêmes on both sides with most of the remaining salt and white pepper, then arrange them rounded-side up without crowding. Lay the parchment directly against them, buttered-side down, and cover the pan tightly. Cook in the oven without stock, wine, or any other liquor for 14 to 18 minutes, checking at 12 minutes, until the thickest part of each fillet reaches 165°F (74°C). This is the dry poach: enclosed gentle heat and butter, with only the chicken's own moisture. If thinner pieces finish first, lift them onto the warm platter under the parchment while the others continue. Rest all four suprêmes for 5 minutes and save their clear juices.

   The suprêmes should remain pale. A golden crust would be welcome in another dish, but here it would overpower the truffle and tint the sauce.
5. 5

   Finish sauce suprême

   Return the strained velouté to gentle heat and whisk in any clear juices released by the resting chicken. Add all but the reserved tablespoon of cream and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce reaches nappe, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon while still flowing generously. If it becomes too tight, loosen it teaspoon by teaspoon with the reserved stock; if it is thin, reduce it before adding the butter. Stir in the mushroom julienne and warm it for 1 minute. Take the pan completely off the heat, fold in the truffle julienne, then whisk in the cold butter one cube at a time. Do not boil the finished sauce. If it turns oily or begins to separate, whisk the reserved cold cream in a clean bowl, add a spoonful of sauce, then rebuild the rest gradually. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Coat and serve

   Taste the sauce and correct it with the remaining salt and white pepper. Arrange the whole suprêmes on the warmed platter with their rounded sides uppermost. Coat each one generously with sauce suprême, distributing the truffle and mushroom julienne evenly, then spoon the remaining sauce around them. Serve at once, while the sauce flows softly and its butter still gleams. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Uniform fillets matter more than pedigree. Choose four suprêmes close in weight and tuck their thin tips underneath; a careful cook turns modest chicken into something splendid, while mismatched pieces force one breast to wait for another.
• •Use white button mushrooms, not cremini. Their mild flavor supports the truffle and their pale flesh keeps sauce suprême ivory; darker mushrooms make a good sauce, but not this one.
• •The truffle must be real. When fresh black truffle isn't available, a whole preserved black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer. Drain it well and cut it yourself. Truffle oil changes both the perfume and the texture of the garnish.
• •Serve with pommes vapeur or a restrained rice pilaf, something willing to receive the sauce without competing with it. A white Burgundy with breadth but little new oak suits the cream, chicken, and truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The velouté can be prepared through straining one day ahead. Cool it quickly, cover, and refrigerate; reheat it gently before adding the chicken juices, cream, mushroom, truffle, and finishing butter.
• •The mushroom julienne can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead and held covered in the refrigerator. Return it to room temperature while the chicken cooks.
• •Cut the truffle no more than 1 hour before serving and keep it tightly covered. Dry-poach the chicken and mount the sauce with butter only at the finish; neither improves by waiting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)