Mandarines de Cailles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-inch round cutter
• •Small sharp paring knife
• •Grapefruit spoon or narrow teaspoon
• •Small heavy roasting pan
• •Mini food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Mixing bowl and ice bath
• •Four small ramekins
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the tangerine shells

   Center a 1½-inch round cutter over each stem and press only hard enough to score an even circle. Finish the cut with a small sharp knife, lift away the cap, and ease out the sections with a grapefruit spoon without puncturing the rind. Set the empty shells upside down on a rack for at least 1 hour. Peel every scrap of white membrane from the sections while they are raw, keeping as many whole as possible, then cover and chill them. Drying the shells is not decoration: moisture left inside loosens the Mousse.

   A small tear is manageable. Support that shell snugly in a ramekin while filling it, then turn the damaged side toward the center of the serving dish.
2. 2

   Roast the quail

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Rub the quail with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter and season them with about half the salt and white pepper. Arrange them breast-side up in a small heavy roasting pan and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, until deeply golden and the thickest meat reaches 165°F (74°C). Rest for 10 minutes, preserving every browned drop in the pan, then cool the birds until they can be handled.

3. 3

   Pick fillets and meat

   Lift the breasts from the quail, keeping four of the neatest fillets whole for the tops. Cover and chill those fillets immediately. Remove the skin, sinew, and any browned edges from the remaining breast and leg meat, then weigh out 5 ounces (about 1 cup / 140 g) for the Mousse. Break the carcasses into several pieces and keep them with the roasting pan. The fillet must remain recognizably roasted; the picked meat is the part that becomes silk.

4. 4

   Build the quail fond

   Set the roasting pan over medium heat, add the broken carcasses, and let their edges brown for 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in the 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) of chicken stock and scrape the pan floor clean. Simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, strain, then reduce the liquid to 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g). Measure 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) for the Mousse and ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) for the chaud-froid. This concentrated fond replaces the stockpot that once never left the fire.

5. 5

   Make the cold Mousse

   Bloom the Mousse gelatin in its 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of cold water for 5 minutes. Warm the 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) of quail fond, dissolve the gelatin in it, and process the mixture with the 5 ounces (140 g) of picked quail meat until completely smooth. Press the purée through a fine sieve, season with a little of the remaining salt and white pepper, then stir it over ice until cool but still fluid. Whip the cream to soft folds, reserving two spoonfuls, and fold the rest into the quail base in three additions. Fold in the cold foie gras dice last. A warm Mousse will not hold. If the base begins setting before the cream is incorporated, warm the underside of the bowl briefly over lukewarm water; if the finished Mousse feels loose, set it over ice for 2 minutes and fold in the reserved cream. Ça se rattrape.

   Soft folds are enough for the cream. Stiffly whipped cream leaves white pockets and makes the Mousse coarse instead of light.
6. 6

   Fill and set

   Stand the dried tangerine shells in four small ramekins so they cannot roll. Spoon in the quail Mousse until each shell is three-quarters full, exactly as the original preparation directs, then smooth the surface without packing it down. Chill for 45 to 60 minutes, until the Mousse is firm enough to support a fillet. Do not fill to the rim; the roast fillet, chaud-froid, and fruit still need their place.

7. 7

   Make brown chaud-froid

   Bloom the chaud-froid gelatin in its 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of cold water. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this roux until it reaches the brown of a hazelnut and smells toasted, not scorched. Whisk in the reserved ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) of quail fond a little at a time, then simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat, dissolve in the bloomed gelatin, strain, and correct the seasoning. Cool the sauce over ice, stirring, until it remains fluid but leaves an opaque brown coat on the spoon. If it sets too far, loosen it over lukewarm water; if it runs thin, return it to the ice for a minute.

8. 8

   Mask and glaze

   Bloom the aspic gelatin in its 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of cold water. Warm the clear ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of chicken stock, dissolve the gelatin in it, strain, and cool it until lightly syrupy. Set one chilled roast quail fillet on each firm Mousse and mask the fillet completely with the brown chaud-froid. Chill for 10 minutes to set the coat. Arrange the membrane-free tangerine sections over each top in overlapping petals, covering the fillet, then brush them with the clear aspic. Chill for 10 minutes and apply a second fine coat. If either glaze sets in its bowl, warm it gently only until it flows again.

9. 9

   Chill and serve

   Refrigerate the finished Mandarines de Cailles for at least 2 hours, loosely covered so nothing touches the glaze. Line a low serving dish with a folded white linen napkin, which steadies the round shells and catches their cold condensation, then arrange the mandarines upright. Serve directly from the cold with small forks or spoons; the rind is the vessel, not part of the bite. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose large tangerines with firm, tight rinds and no soft spots. A loose-skinned fruit tears while you remove the sections and slumps after filling; fragrance matters, but structure matters first.
• •Use cooked whole-lobe foie gras or a firm foie gras terrine, not raw foie gras and not a whipped pâté. Chill it for 15 minutes before dicing so the cubes stay distinct when folded into the Mousse.
• •The stock must be unsalted and taste properly of poultry. A good refrigerated or frozen chicken stock is an honest home foundation; the roasted quail carcasses and reduction supply the depth the old stockpot once carried.
• •Serve these with brut Champagne or a dry Vouvray. The wine needs enough freshness for the tangerine and enough body for quail, cream, and foie gras.

Advance Preparation

• •The dish is best completed the day before serving. Keep the glazed mandarines loosely covered and refrigerated at 40°F (4°C) or colder, with no wrapping touching the aspic.
• •The tangerine shells and skinned sections can be prepared up to 8 hours before filling. Keep the shells drying in the refrigerator and the sections covered separately.
• •The roasted quail, picked meat, reserved fillets, and reduced fond can be prepared a day ahead. Chill each promptly, then make the Mousse and glazes on the day of assembly.
• •Serve within 24 hours of assembly. Freezing damages the cream emulsion, citrus, and aspic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)