Spring Chickens à la Russe

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 7-quart pot and long tongs for scalding
• •Butcher's twine and 2 small metal skewers
• •Larding needle or narrow metal skewer
• •Small tray that fits in the freezer
• •Wire roasting rack and deep roasting tin
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small heavy saucepan and heatproof pouring ladle
• •Medium bowl and sturdy whisk for the Rémoulade
• •Poultry shears or a heavy chef's knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the Rémoulade

   Whisk the egg yolk with the Dijon mustard, vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of white pepper until perfectly smooth. Add the neutral oil drop by drop until the emulsion catches and thickens, then continue in a thin steady stream, whisking without pause. If it splits, don't discard it. Ça se rattrape: put 1 teaspoon of the measured cold water in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken sauce one spoonful at a time until it comes together. Fold in the capers, cornichons, fines herbes, and the single mashed anchovy. Taste before adding more salt, then cover and refrigerate.

2. 2

   Prepare the lardons

   Lay each halved anchovy fillet against a chilled bacon baton, making 12 paired lardons. Set them on a small tray and chill them in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, only until firm enough to thread without bending. Mix the sausage meat with the chopped truffle, truffle juice, and ¼ teaspoon of the white pepper until tacky and smooth. Fry a teaspoonful in a small pan and taste it. Sausage, anchovy, and bacon already carry salt, so add only what the cooked sample truly needs. Keep the forcemeat cold.

3. 3

   Truss and scald

   Bring 3 quarts of the measured water to a full boil in a wide pot. Tuck each chicken's wing tips behind its shoulders and truss the legs and body into a compact shape, leaving the cavity opening accessible. Working with one bird at a time, lower it breast-down into the boiling water with long tongs so the breast and its skin are immersed. Hold the water at an active simmer for exactly 5 minutes. Lift the bird carefully, drain the cavity, and repeat with the second chicken. Pat every surface completely dry and let the birds cool for 10 minutes. The breasts should feel taut and slightly firm. Discard the scalding water and clean the pot and surrounding work surface.

4. 4

   Lard and stuff

   Use a larding needle or narrow metal skewer to open three shallow channels lengthwise through each breast half, passing from the thick end toward the thin end and staying about ½ inch beneath the skin. Thread one firm bacon-and-anchovy lardon through each channel. The strips belong inside the flesh, not laid beneath the skin; this internal basting is the principle of the dish. If a strip softens or begins to smear, stop. Chill it for another 10 minutes and reopen the same channel with the skewer. Ça se rattrape. Divide the truffled sausage meat between the two cavities, filling them loosely rather than packing them tight, then close each opening with a small metal skewer and tighten the trussing string.

5. 5

   Roast the chickens

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the middle. Set the chickens breast-up on a wire rack inside a roasting tin, brush them with 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat, and season the skin lightly with the remaining salt and white pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F (190°C), rotate the tin, and continue for 35 to 50 minutes. The skin should be deeply golden, the thickest part of each thigh must reach 165°F (74°C), and the centre of the sausage filling must also reach 165°F (74°C). If the breast browns before the filling is safe, cover only the breast with a loose patch of foil and continue roasting. Colour can wait; raw forcemeat cannot.

6. 6

   Rest and frizzle

   Rest the cooked chickens uncovered on their rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining bacon fat in a small saucepan to about 350°F (175°C), when it is fluid and shimmering but not alight. Set the rack over a completely dry, deep roasting tin on a stable heatproof surface, away from water and any open flame. Wearing oven gloves, pour the fat from close above the birds in a thin controlled stream, moving across the breasts and legs. It should crackle immediately and tighten the skin. If one damp patch stays soft, don't keep pouring fat over it. The broiler is your home salamander: place the bird beneath it for 30 to 60 seconds, watching continuously, until that patch crisps.

7. 7

   Carve and serve

   Transfer the chickens to a warm oval platter and remove the string and cavity skewers. Halve each small bird through the breastbone and backbone so every serving receives crisp skin, breast, leg, and truffled stuffing. Stir the chilled Rémoulade and serve it in a bowl alongside, never poured over the skin you worked to crisp. Its mustard and vinegar cut through the bacon, sausage, and truffle with exactly the required sharpness. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A Cornish hen is the usual American market equivalent for a spring chicken, and despite the name it is a young chicken, not a game bird. Choose birds weighing 1½ to 1¾ pounds each; very tiny hens leave no honest room for the forcemeat.
• •Use unsmoked streaky bacon. Smoke overwhelms the anchovy and truffle, while plain cured bacon supplies salt and fat without taking possession of the bird.
• •The lardons must be narrow, straight, and very cold. A broad strip tears the breast, and a warm one folds beneath the skewer. Make one clean channel and pass the strip through with patience.
• •Preserved black truffle is the honest spring pantry choice. Fresh black winter truffle and a true spring chicken rarely meet at their best, while a good whole truffle preserved in its own juice keeps the intended aroma. Avoid heavily perfumed truffle oil.
• •Serve a full, dry white wine with enough acidity for the Rémoulade, such as white Burgundy or a restrained Chardonnay. The sauce is cold and lively; the wine should meet it, not disappear beneath the roast.
• •Remove leftover stuffing from the carcasses within 2 hours, refrigerate it separately with the carved chicken, and eat both within 3 days. Reheat the stuffing to 165°F (74°C).

Advance Preparation

• •Make the Rémoulade up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Stir it before serving; if it has tightened, whisk in a few drops of cold water.
• •Render, strain, and chill the bacon fat up to 3 days ahead. Reheat only the quantity needed for roasting and the final frizzle.
• •The truffled sausage meat and paired bacon-and-anchovy lardons can be prepared several hours ahead and kept very cold. Do not fill the chickens until the oven is hot and you are ready to roast them.
• •The birds may be trussed, scalded, thoroughly dried, and larded up to 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate them uncovered on a rack so their skin stays dry, then add the forcemeat immediately before roasting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)