Suprêmes de Pigeonneaux à la Diplomate

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Boning knife and sturdy kitchen shears
• •Two rimmed trays, parchment, and a 2-pound (1 kg) weight
• •Wide 10 to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) skillet
• •2 to 3-quart (2 to 3 L) saucepan
• •Small food processor and fine-mesh sieve
• •5-quart (4.7 L) heavy pot for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer, instant-read thermometer, splatter screen, and wire spider
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the pigeon essence

   Keep the breasts and leg meat cold. Chop the wings, carcasses, and skins into manageable pieces. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide saucepan and brown the bones and trimmings thoroughly, turning them until every cut surface is deep bronze. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes without scorching them. Pour in the chicken stock, scrape up the fond, and hold it at a bare simmer for 40 minutes. Strain firmly, discard the solids, and reduce the liquid to 3 cups (720 ml). This is the home kitchen's pigeon essence, made while the rest of the work moves forward.

   A hard boil clouds the essence and drives fat into it. Keep the surface at a quiet tremble and skim only the excess fat.
2. 2

   Raidir the suprêmes

   Place each skinned breast between sheets of parchment and flatten it gently to an even ⅝ inch (1.5 cm), pressing rather than striking. Season lightly with salt and white pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a broad skillet over medium heat. When it foams, raidir the suprêmes, meaning stiffen them gently, for 45 to 60 seconds on each side. Their surfaces should turn opaque without taking much color, and their centers should remain underdone. Arrange them between clean sheets of parchment, cover with a second tray, and add a light 2-pound (1 kg) weight. Refrigerate under pressure for 25 to 30 minutes, until completely cold.

   The pressure should keep the fillets flat, not squeeze out their juices. A full kettle is too heavy; two tins of tomatoes are about right.
3. 3

   Make the Villeroy

   Cook the finely chopped mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until their moisture has evaporated, then scrape them into a bowl. Melt 2½ tablespoons more butter in the same pan, stir in the flour, and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes without coloring it. Whisk in 1¼ cups (300 ml) of hot pigeon essence by degrees, smoothing each addition before adding the next. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is very thick and a spoon drawn through it leaves a clean path. Whisk the yolk with ½ cup (120 ml) of the cream, temper it with a little hot sauce, then return the liaison to the pan. Cook gently until the sauce reaches 165°F (74°C), but do not let it boil. Fold in the chopped mushrooms, chopped parsley, chervil, and tarragon; season with salt and white pepper. If the Villeroy lumps, pass it through a sieve before adding the mushrooms and herbs. If the liaison curdles, take it off the heat and whisk in a spoonful of cold cream. Ça se rattrape.

   Villeroy is not a sauce for pouring. It should fall from the spoon in a heavy sheet and set when chilled; a flowing sauce cannot hold a crumb coat.
4. 4

   Coat and chill

   Let the Villeroy stand for 5 minutes so it remains fluid but is no longer fiercely hot. Blot the chilled suprêmes dry. Using two forks, lower each fillet into the sauce and turn it until every surface carries a coat about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Lift it onto a parchment-lined tray and smooth any bare patch with a spoon. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 45 minutes, until the Villeroy is firm and dry to a light touch. If the coat slides, the fillet or sauce was too warm. Scrape it back into the pan, chill both for 10 minutes, warm the sauce only enough to make it workable, and coat again.

   Do not rush this chill. A fully set Villeroy coat stays around the pigeon in the fryer; a soft one abandons the bird and floats away.
5. 5

   Shape the quenelles

   Trim the reserved leg meat of skin, bone, and visible sinew; you should have about 6 to 7 ounces (180 to 200 g). Chill the food processor bowl and blade, then pulse the meat with ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper until tacky. Add the egg white and process until smooth. With the machine running in short bursts, add the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) cold cream in three additions, stopping as soon as the mousseline is smooth and glossy. Press it through a fine sieve. Bring the water to 175°F (80°C), season it lightly, and poach a teaspoonful as a test. If it frays or spreads, the mixture is too warm; chill it for 15 minutes and test again. Shape 12 small quenelles between two wet teaspoons and poach them without boiling for 6 to 8 minutes, until firm and 165°F (74°C) at the center. Drain on a cloth-lined tray.

   Keep the meat, blade, and cream cold. A warm mousseline loses its emulsion and cooks grainy instead of light.
6. 6

   Finish the garnish

   Melt 1½ tablespoons butter in a wide skillet and sauté the quartered mushrooms over medium-high heat until browned at their edges and dry on the surface. Season and set aside. Combine 1¼ cups (300 ml) pigeon essence with the veal demi-glace in a saucepan and reduce gently until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 1½ cups (360 ml). Stir in the truffle trimmings, then add the mushrooms, quenelles, and olive-shaped truffles. Warm them at the barest simmer and finish with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. If the half-glaze becomes too tight, loosen it with pigeon essence one spoonful at a time; if thin, remove the garnish and reduce the sauce further.

7. 7

   Crumb the suprêmes

   Set the beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Working gently, dip each cold, firm Villeroy-coated suprême in egg, let the excess drain, then roll it in breadcrumbs. Press only enough to secure an even coat. The source calls for egg and crumbs, with no flour between them; the set Villeroy already provides the foundation. Place the crumbed fillets on a rack and refrigerate for 10 minutes while the oil heats. Patch any exposed spot with a dab of egg and fresh crumbs.

8. 8

   Fry at last minute

   Dry the parsley sprigs completely between towels. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot to 350°F (175°C), keeping the pot no more than half full. Fry the parsley in small handfuls for 10 to 15 seconds, using a splatter screen and long-handled spider, then drain and season lightly. Fry the suprêmes two or three at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until evenly deep gold and 165°F (74°C) at the center. Let the oil return to temperature between batches. If the crust colors before the center is ready, lower the oil to 330°F (165°C) and finish gently. Drain on a rack, never in a pile, and season at once.

   Parsley carries water even when it looks dry, so expect a lively first second in the oil. Dry it thoroughly, stand back, and use a screen.
9. 9

   Dish and serve

   Arrange the eight fried suprêmes in a close circle on a warm oval platter and heap the fried parsley in their center. Transfer the quenelles, mushrooms, truffles, and pigeon half-glaze to a separate warmed serving bowl, exactly as the source directs. Keeping the garnish separate preserves the crisp coat and lets each guest spoon sauce beside the pigeon rather than over it. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy farmed squab from a butcher who will leave the birds whole or break them down to order. Eight loose breasts alone solve only half the recipe; the legs make the quenelles and the carcasses give the sauce its pigeon character.
• •Cool twice and completely: once after the suprêmes are stiffened in butter, then again after the Villeroy goes on. This is not brigade ceremony. Warm meat loosens the sauce, and unset sauce slides off in the fryer.
• •A good prepared veal demi-glace is the honest replacement for a day-long stockpot. Choose one with gelatin, stock, and vegetables at its foundation, not a salty gravy concentrate.
• •Use preserved whole black truffles when fresh ones are not in season. The classical pantry understood preservation perfectly well. Truffle oil cannot supply the olive-shaped garnish or its texture.
• •Fine, dry breadcrumbs make the neatest coat. Coarse crumbs leave weak gaps through which the Villeroy can escape.
• •Pour a red Burgundy with gentle tannin and good acidity. Pinot Noir meets the pigeon and mushrooms without bullying the cream, truffle, or crisp coat.

Advance Preparation

• •The pigeon essence can be made a day ahead, chilled quickly, and refrigerated. Remove any set fat before reheating.
• •The suprêmes may be stiffened, coated with Villeroy, and refrigerated for up to 8 hours. Keep them uncovered once the coating has set so its surface stays dry.
• •The quenelles can be poached a day ahead and chilled in a covered container. Warm them gently in the finished half-glaze with the mushrooms and truffles.
• •Crumb the suprêmes no more than 30 minutes before frying. Frying is the last-minute step and cannot be held without sacrificing the crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 525g)