Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
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Tourte de Poussins à la Paysanne
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1650, Tourte de Poussins à la Paysanne, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Half-poussins, sausage meat, and dry duxelles enclosed in burnished short paste, with glossy demi-glace poured through the top slit the moment it leaves the oven. Country generosity, disciplined by exact pastry work.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
Picnic
1 hr 15 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield4 servings
Tourte de Poussins à la Paysanne (country-style poussin pie) teaches the discipline of keeping a filled pie dry until its crust has done its work. The half-poussins, sausage meat, dry duxelles, and sautéed mushrooms go under the short paste with no loose sauce; only when the crust stands bronzed and sealed does the demi-glace enter through the slit. That separation is the one true thing to know before touching a pan.
The original assumed ten tiny half-chicks, dry Duxelles waiting from batch work, and a saucier drawing half-glaze from stock never off the fire. Here ten halves become four, each of the two forcemeat coatings is reduced to four-tenths, and a good prepared demi-glace replaces the separate sauce station. The ten-inch base stays because market poussins are larger and the two-inch bare margin makes the seal. It did not call for a salamander, so neither do we. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The separate sauce station and batch preparation are brigade scaffolding and can go. The two forcemeat coatings, dry mushroom work, bacon veil, tight pleated seal, and immediate pour through the slit are the dish and must stay. Cool every filling before it touches the paste; warm or wet filling melts the butter before the oven can set the crust.
Tourte de poussins à la paysanne belongs to the French cuisine bourgeoise table and the classical repertoire of closed poultry pies, rather than to one claimed province. Such pies traveled from household feast baking into grand kitchens, where dry duxelles, layered forcemeat, and demi-glace gave a practical pastry enclosure a more exact architecture. The name à la paysanne means country-style here, but it does not identify a regional peasant recipe; its rustic title conceals an organized service method, with the sauce held back until the crust is baked.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
4 cups (960 ml / 500 g)
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270 ml / 250 g)
cubed
fine sea salt
Quantity
1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g)
for the short paste
ice water
Quantity
½ cup plus up to 2 tablespoons (120 to 150 ml / 120 to 150 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g)
for rolling
white or cremini mushrooms
Quantity
6½ cups (1.55 L / 450 g)
very finely chopped for the dry duxelles
shallots
Quantity
2 small (about ½ cup / 80 g)
finely minced
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
for the duxelles
fine sea salt
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g)
for the duxelles
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
for the duxelles
small poussins
Quantity
2 small (12 to 14 oz / 340 to 400 g each)
split lengthwise into 4 halves
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
for the poussins
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1.2 g)
for the poussins
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
for stiffening the poussins
plain fresh pork sausage meat
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
white or cremini mushrooms
Quantity
1¾ cups (420 ml / 120 g)
coarsely chopped
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
for sautéing the chopped mushrooms
unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
4 very thin slices (about 2 oz / 55 g)
egg wash
Quantity
1 large egg plus 1 teaspoon water (5 ml / 5 g)
beaten together for gilding
prepared demi-glace
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
warmed and pourable
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour | 4 cups (960 ml / 500 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercubed | 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270 ml / 250 g) |
| fine sea saltfor the short paste | 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) |
| ice water | ½ cup plus up to 2 tablespoons (120 to 150 ml / 120 to 150 g) |
| all-purpose flourfor rolling | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g) |
| white or cremini mushroomsvery finely chopped for the dry duxelles | 6½ cups (1.55 L / 450 g) |
| shallotsfinely minced | 2 small (about ½ cup / 80 g) |
| unsalted butterfor the duxelles | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| fine sea saltfor the duxelles | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) |
| freshly ground black pepperfor the duxelles | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| small poussinssplit lengthwise into 4 halves | 2 small (12 to 14 oz / 340 to 400 g each) |
| fine sea saltfor the poussins | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepperfor the poussins | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1.2 g) |
| unsalted butterfor stiffening the poussins | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| plain fresh pork sausage meat | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| white or cremini mushroomscoarsely chopped | 1¾ cups (420 ml / 120 g) |
| unsalted butterfor sautéing the chopped mushrooms | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| unsmoked streaky bacon | 4 very thin slices (about 2 oz / 55 g) |
| egg washbeaten together for gilding | 1 large egg plus 1 teaspoon water (5 ml / 5 g) |
| prepared demi-glacewarmed and pourable | ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Large wide skillet
- •Rolling pin
- •10-inch (25 cm) flat metal pie pan or removable tart base
- •Heavy baking sheet
- •Parchment paper
- •Pastry brush
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small heatproof funnel
Instructions
- 1
Make the short paste
Mix the 4 cups of flour with the salt. Cut in the cold butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most pieces resemble coarse crumbs but a few remain the size of small peas. Add ½ cup of ice water and toss lightly; add the remaining water a spoonful at a time only until the dough holds when pressed. Kneading develops toughness, so stop as soon as it comes together. Divide it into a smaller piece for the base and a larger piece for the domed cover, flatten both into discs, wrap, and chill for at least 45 minutes.
If the dough remains dusty, add water by the teaspoon. If it feels greasy or soft, stop handling it and chill it for 15 minutes before continuing. - 2
Cook the dry duxelles
Melt the duxelles butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Soften the shallots without browning, then add the finely chopped mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook briskly at first, stirring as they release their water, then lower the heat and continue until the pan is dry, the mixture gathers around the spoon, and no liquid appears when you press it. You need about ⅔ cup (160 ml / 110 g) of dry duxelles. If it still looks glossy with mushroom liquor, keep cooking; wet duxelles will soak the pastry. Spread it on a plate and cool completely.
- 3
Raidir the poussins
Pat the poussin halves dry and season them with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the cleaned skillet over medium heat until it foams. Raidir, or stiffen, the poussins for 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning them just until the outer flesh firms and loses its raw softness. They should not cook through, and deep browning is not the purpose here. Transfer them to a rack or plate and let them cool completely.
- 4
Sauté the mushrooms
Raise the heat beneath the skillet and melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the coarsely chopped mushrooms in one layer and sauté until their liquid has boiled away and their edges take a little bronze, 5 to 7 minutes. Keep them moving only enough to prevent scorching; constant stirring makes them stew. Spread them on a separate plate and cool completely.
- 5
Lay the first coating
Set a heavy baking sheet in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F (190°C), or 350°F (175°C) with convection. Mix the cold dry duxelles thoroughly with the sausage meat, then divide the forcemeat into two equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll the smaller pastry disc about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and cut a 10-inch (25 cm) round. Lay it on parchment over a flat metal pie pan or tart base. Spread one portion of forcemeat in a 6-inch (15 cm) circle at the center, leaving a full 2-inch (5 cm) margin of bare paste.
- 6
Build the tourte
Arrange the four cooled poussin halves compactly over the first coating, cut sides down, tucking in wing tips and keeping sharp bones away from the future cover. Sprinkle the sautéed mushrooms evenly over and between them. Pat the second portion of forcemeat into thin pieces and fit them over the poussins as a second coating. Lay the bacon slices over the mound with their edges slightly overlapping. The fillings must be cold and dry before the pastry closes over them. This is the principle that decides the tourte.
- 7
Seal, pleat, and gild
Roll the larger pastry disc about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and wide enough to cover the mound without stretching. Brush the bare margin of the base lightly with water, drape over the cover, and press around the filling to release large pockets of air. Seal the two layers firmly, trim the edge evenly, and pleat it at regular intervals. Chill the assembled tourte for 20 minutes, then gild it with the beaten egg, streak the top lightly with the back of a knife, and cut a 1-inch (2.5 cm) slit at the center.
If the seam tears or the cover catches on a bone, press a thin scrap of pastry over the opening and gild it again. Ça se rattrape. An unpatched hole lets the juices escape before they can enrich the filling. - 8
Bake to bronze
Set the pan directly on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes before checking. Continue for 5 to 15 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden, the pleats are crisp, and a thermometer inserted through the slit reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of a poussin thigh without touching bone. Check that the central sausage layer has reached at least 160°F (71°C). If the top bronzes before the filling is ready, cover it loosely with foil and keep baking; color is negotiable once it is handsome, safe doneness is not.
- 9
Pour the demi-glace
The moment the tourte leaves the oven, pour the warm demi-glace slowly through the central slit, one tablespoon at a time, pausing as the forcemeat drinks it in. If the sauce sits stubbornly on top, widen the slit with a small knife or use a heatproof funnel; if it is too thick to flow, loosen it with a teaspoon of hot water. Rest the tourte for 15 minutes so the sauce settles through the layers, then cut it into four portions, giving each guest one half-poussin beneath its share of crust. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose the smallest poussins your butcher can supply, ideally no more than 14 ounces each. Cornish hens are the honest substitute, but they are often larger, so trust the thermometer rather than the book's clock.
- •Plain fresh pork sausage meat is wanted here, gently seasoned and without fennel, smoke, or sweetness. Its fat binds the duxelles and bastes the poussins inside the sealed paste.
- •Dry means dry with duxelles. When you drag the spoon across the skillet, the exposed metal should remain clean, with no mushroom liquor creeping into the track. This step is the pastry's protection.
- •Use prepared demi-glace with a clean meat-stock flavor, not gravy thickened heavily with starch. Warm it until it pours in a narrow ribbon before the tourte comes out, because the final addition waits for no one.
- •The book's broad, very thin sheet of bacon becomes four overlapping slices because most home butchers do not cut sheets wide enough to cover the filling. Keep them thin so they melt into the forcemeat instead of becoming a separate chewy layer.
- •Pour a light red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais. Both meet the mushrooms and pork without flattening the delicate poussin.
Advance Preparation
- •The short paste can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept well wrapped in the refrigerator. Let it stand only until it bends without cracking before rolling.
- •The dry duxelles, stiffened poussins, and sautéed mushrooms can be prepared earlier the same day. Chill them separately, then assemble only when every component is cold.
- •The assembled, ungilded tourte can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours. Gild, streak, and cut the slit immediately before baking.
- •For a picnic, bake the tourte, add the demi-glace, rest it, and refrigerate it once the first fierce heat has passed. Transport it thoroughly chilled with ice packs and serve within 2 hours of taking it from the cooler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 480g)
Calories
1610 calories
Total Fat
107 g
Saturated Fat
54 g
Trans Fat
3 g
Unsaturated Fat
47 g
Cholesterol
365 mg
Sodium
2660 mg
Total Carbohydrates
109 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
55 g
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