Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
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Soufflés de Volaille
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1683, Soufflés de Volaille, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Soufflés de Volaille rise by disciplined heat, not mystery: cooked chicken folded through a butter-bound base and whisked whites, then baked steadily until the bronze cap stands proud and the centre is fully set.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
35 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Soufflés de Volaille (chicken soufflés) teach the cleanest law of the soufflé family: lift comes from whisked whites, but structure comes from a properly cooked base and a complete bake. Here is the one true thing to know before touching the pan. A soufflé made with cooked chicken moves slowly in the oven, so give it steady heat and err a little long rather than pulling it at the first dramatic rise.
The brigade surrounding this dish once had a saucier on staff, stock never off the fire, a salamander ready for anything needing last colour, and enough hands to pound raw chicken through a mortar and tamis for a banquet. For four people, cooked chicken is the sound road the old formula itself allows. A food processor replaces the mortar, a saucepan builds the roux, and an ordinary oven supplies all the colour required. Stock and salamander can go because they are brigade scaffolding here; the roux, carefully folded whites, and unhurried bake are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the crown stands butter-gold above the dish, the edges are bronzed, and the centre is pale, savoury, and tender rather than wet. Fold only until the broad white streaks disappear, then leave the mixture alone. The bake decides everything after that.
Soufflés de Volaille belong less to a single French province than to the Parisian classical and bourgeois table, where the soufflé moved easily between grand dining rooms and disciplined home kitchens in the same deep-sided timbale. The name describes a structure, not sweetness: in classical vocabulary, hot soufflés could carry poultry, fish, meat, or game, with whisked egg whites providing their rise. Poultry preserved two practical roads, raw breast for large service and cooked meat for a small one, where an unhurried bake made splendid use of the bird already at hand.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tbsp (60 ml / 56 g)
softened and divided
fine dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
2 tbsp (30 ml / 12 g)
cooked skinless chicken breast
Quantity
1½ packed cups (360 ml / 225 g)
chilled and roughly chopped
heavy cream
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
cold
all-purpose flour
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g)
whole milk
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
warmed
large eggs
Quantity
5
separated
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tbsp (30 ml / 8 g)
finely chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
¾ tsp (3.75 ml / 4 g)
ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ tsp (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
freshly grated nutmeg
Quantity
⅛ tsp (0.6 ml / 0.3 g)
large egg white (optional)
Quantity
1
unbeaten, for rescuing overwhipped whites
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsalted buttersoftened and divided | 4 tbsp (60 ml / 56 g) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs | 2 tbsp (30 ml / 12 g) |
| cooked skinless chicken breastchilled and roughly chopped | 1½ packed cups (360 ml / 225 g) |
| heavy creamcold | ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| all-purpose flour | ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) |
| whole milkwarmed | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| large eggsseparated | 5 |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tbsp (30 ml / 8 g) |
| fine sea salt | ¾ tsp (3.75 ml / 4 g) |
| ground white pepper | ¼ tsp (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| freshly grated nutmeg | ⅛ tsp (0.6 ml / 0.3 g) |
| large egg white (optional)unbeaten, for rescuing overwhipped whites | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •1½-quart (1.4-litre) straight-sided soufflé dish
- •Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Food processor
- •Large mixing bowl and balloon whisk
- •Flexible spatula
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Heat and prepare dish
Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F (190°C), or 350°F (175°C) with a fan. Brush a 1½-quart (1.4-litre) straight-sided soufflé dish with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter, working upward from base to rim, then coat it evenly with the breadcrumbs and tap out the excess. Chill the prepared dish while making the base.
A straight-sided dish gives the mixture something to climb. Leave at least one-third of its depth empty after filling, or the rising centre will spill before it can support itself. - 2
Refine the chicken
Put the chilled cooked chicken and cold cream in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the chicken is very fine and cohesive but still tender, scraping the bowl once or twice. Stop before it turns rubbery or slick. This replaces the brigade's mortar and tamis without changing the purpose, which is an even texture light enough to rise with the base.
- 3
Build the roux base
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes, keeping the roux pale while its raw smell gives way to warm biscuit. Add the warm milk gradually, whisking each addition smooth before pouring the next. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring firmly into the corners, until the mixture heaves in slow bubbles and leaves a clean path behind the spoon. If lumps appear, don't begin again. Ça se rattrape: press the base through a fine sieve while it is hot, return it to the pan, and continue.
This pale roux is not optional thickening. It forms the frame that holds the chicken and captures the air from the whites, so cook it fully but never let it brown. - 4
Cool and enrich
Fold the processed chicken and cream into the roux and cook over gentle heat for 2 minutes, stirring, until the panade (the thick, starch-bound base) pulls cleanly from the pan. Remove it from the heat and stir in the parsley, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Spread the panade in a broad bowl and cool it for about 10 minutes, until warm rather than hot, then beat in the yolks one at a time. Hot panade cooks yolks into threads; if the bowl still feels hot against your palm, wait.
- 5
Whisk and fold
Whisk the 5 egg whites in a perfectly clean bowl until they hold supple medium peaks: firm enough to stand, still glossy enough to bend at the tip. If they become dry and grainy, whisk in the optional unbeaten white a little at a time until the mass turns smooth again. Fold one-quarter briskly into the chicken base to loosen it, then add the remainder in two portions, cutting down through the centre and turning the bowl as the spatula rises. Stop when no broad white streaks remain; repeated stirring spends the air you have just made.
A spot of yolk or grease prevents whites from mounting. Wipe the bowl and whisk with a little vinegar, then dry them completely before beginning. - 6
Bake without rushing
Spoon the mixture into the chilled dish, filling it no more than two-thirds full. Level the top lightly, then run a clean thumb around the inside rim to make a shallow channel. Bake at once for 30 to 35 minutes without opening the door during the first 25. The crown should be deeply golden, the sides set, and the centre at least 160°F (71°C); a slender skewer should emerge hot with moist crumbs but no liquid egg. Cooked chicken soufflé runs slower than the raw-meat road, so err two or three minutes long rather than short. If the crown browns before the centre sets, lay foil loosely over it and finish the bake. No salamander and no broiler; steady oven heat gives the centre time to follow the crown.
- 7
Serve at once
Carry the Soufflés de Volaille directly to the table. Break through the bronze crown with a broad serving spoon and reach to the bottom so every portion receives both the savoury crust and the tender centre. A little settling is natural and changes nothing worth eating. Serve with a sharply dressed green salad. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Cooked chicken breast is the proper choice for this four-person service. It should be moist and recently cooked; dry, stringy meat remains dry after baking, however much cream surrounds it.
- •For a table of eight or more, the old formula prefers raw breast because a larger quantity can be refined evenly and rises with greater delicacy. Replace the cooked chicken gram for gram with very cold raw breast, process it with the cream, and bake until the centre reaches 165°F (74°C). It is a service choice, not a superior dish.
- •The one-quart timbale of the old instruction cooks in roughly 25 to 30 minutes. This home-scale main uses a slightly larger dish and needs 30 to 35 minutes; depth and cooked meat both ask for patience.
- •Pour a restrained white Burgundy or a dry white from the Jura. The wine needs enough body for butter and chicken, but little overt sweetness beside the delicate centre.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the buttered, breadcrumb-coated dish several hours ahead and keep it chilled.
- •The chicken panade can be made through the seasoning stage up to one day ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface, refrigerate promptly, then let it lose its chill before beating in the yolks.
- •Whisk and fold the whites only when the oven is fully heated and the table is ready. A filled soufflé cannot wait, and a baked one cannot be held or reheated without losing the structure that defines it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 195g)
Calories
410 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
335 mg
Sodium
615 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
29 g
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