Aiguillettes de Rouennais aux Cerises

Aiguillettes de Rouennais aux Cerises (lengthwise slices of Rouen duckling breast with cherries) teaches clarity in sauce-making. Remove the grease completely, then give the Madeira-rich cooking liquor only enough arrowroot to cling. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: arrowroot should make a translucent veil, never a gravy.

The original entry assumes a saucier, veal gravy always ready beside the stove, muslin for a perfectly clear strain, and enough hands to slice the bird while its sauce is finished. At home, Aiguillettes de Rouennais à la Bigarrade (No. 1755) supplies the referenced poêlé method, meaning the duckling is gently pot-roasted in a covered pan, while a shallow spoon and dampened fine-mesh sieve replace the saucier and muslin. That service apparatus is brigade scaffolding. The Madeira in the liquor, complete degreasing, arrowroot finish, and cherries added at the last moment are the dish, and none of them can go. One cook, one stove, one evening.

When it reaches the table, the aiguillettes should wear only a thin gleam of sauce, with the dark Morello cherries still whole and tart around them. Skim every eye of fat before adding the arrowroot. That is the step that decides whether the sauce arrives clear and polished or dull and greasy.