Poussins à la Tartare

Poussins à la Tartare (mustard-crumbed grilled young chickens with Sauce Tartare) teach one true thing: the fire must be gentler than your impatience. Fierce heat blackens mustard and breadcrumbs before the joints cook; held well off the coals, the birds turn bronze beneath a buttery crust while the meat stays succulent.

The original entry sends the brigade directly to Poulet à la Tartare. It assumes a saucier with Sauce Tartare already cold, a charcoal grill watched without interruption, and a salamander ready to correct pale crumbs; the stockpot that supported so much of the canon has no work here. Two poussins give four home servings, a covered two-zone grill replaces the regulated charcoal range, and a few closely watched seconds over direct heat replace the salamander. Only the scale and timing change because poussins cook faster than full chickens. The mustard, fine crumbs, real butter, gentle grilling, and cold emulsion all stay. Those are the dish; the brigade arrangement was scaffolding.

Give the coating ten minutes to settle before it meets the grate, then keep the birds on the cool side until nearly cooked. That distance from the fire decides everything.