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Coulis de Gibier, otherwise au Chasseur
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 665, Coulis de Gibier, otherwise au Chasseur, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Coulis de Gibier turns three roasted game meats, lentils, deglazed pan juices, and consommé into a silken hunter's soup, proving that depth comes from extraction, patient sieving, and a final gloss of butter.
Soups & Stews
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•2 hr 15 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (8 cups / 1.9 L), 8 first-course servings
Coulis de Gibier, otherwise au Chasseur (strained hunter's game soup), teaches that silkiness comes from extraction and passage, not from cream. Roast three game meats until their juices darken the pan, pound them with lentils, then press the whole through a fine sieve. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: the sieve makes the coulis. A blender alone cannot.
The original assumed a saucier on staff, three roast-cases moving through service, a stock of consommé never off the fire, a heavy mortar, and a tamis, the drum sieve rendered in the source as a tammy. Your home kitchen gets exact bone-in portions roasted together, a food processor, a strong fine-mesh sieve, and prepared consommé. Cognac is reduced rather than ignited because the open flame adds risk, not flavor once the alcohol has cooked away. Cuts replace three whole animals to prevent waste, while the equal game weights, lentil proportion, deglazed roast gravy, double straining, final butter, and mushroom garnish remain unchanged. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The mortar work was brigade scaffolding, so the processor may replace it. The first fine passage and final straining are the dish itself, and they must stay. Work the purée patiently, loosen it only when it resists, and do not stop at merely smooth-looking. The first sieving is the step that decides everything.
Coulis de Gibier belongs to the formal French potage course and the game larder rather than to one province: roasted quarry was pounded with a starchy binder, passed through a tamis, and loosened with consommé for the table. Coulis names the act of passing a purée, and the lentils here supply body without flour or cream. The title au Chasseur can mislead a modern cook, because in this entry it names a game soup enriched with mushrooms, not the tomato, shallot, and wine sauce that often carries the same title.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in wild rabbit pieces
Quantity
About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat
bone-in partridge pieces
Quantity
About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat
bone-in pheasant pieces
Quantity
About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
melted, for roasting
dried small green or brown lentils
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 100 g), yielding 1¼ cups (285 ml / 225 g) cooked and drained
cooking liquor reserved
water
Quantity
3 cups (710 ml / 710 g)
for cooking the lentils
Cognac or good French brandy
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
hot clear game consommé, or rich unsalted chicken consommé
Quantity
About 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.2 kg), plus more only if needed to reach the final volume
very fresh small button mushrooms
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 25 g)
finely minced
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
for the mushrooms
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
cut into small cubes
fine sea salt
Quantity
Up to 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in wild rabbit pieces | About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat |
| bone-in partridge pieces | About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat |
| bone-in pheasant pieces | About 12 ounces (340 g), enough to yield 1½ cups loosely packed (6 ounces / 170 g) roasted boneless meat |
| unsalted buttermelted, for roasting | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| dried small green or brown lentilscooking liquor reserved | ½ cup (120 ml / 100 g), yielding 1¼ cups (285 ml / 225 g) cooked and drained |
| waterfor cooking the lentils | 3 cups (710 ml / 710 g) |
| Cognac or good French brandy | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| hot clear game consommé, or rich unsalted chicken consommé | About 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.2 kg), plus more only if needed to reach the final volume |
| very fresh small button mushroomsfinely minced | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 25 g) |
| unsalted butterfor the mushrooms | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into small cubes | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| fine sea salt | Up to 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| ground white pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Sturdy rimmed roasting pan
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •Food processor
- •8-inch fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
- •4-quart heavy saucepan
- •2-quart liquid measure
Instructions
- 1
Cook the lentils
Rinse the lentils, then combine them with the measured water in a saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer and cook gently until completely tender but not disintegrating, about 25 minutes. Drain them over a bowl so every drop of cooking liquor is saved. Measure exactly 1¼ cups (285 ml / 225 g) cooked lentils for the coulis; the finished ratio matters more than the variable yield of a handful of dried lentils.
- 2
Roast the game
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Dry the rabbit, partridge, and pheasant pieces thoroughly, coat them with the melted butter, and season lightly with a little of the measured salt. Arrange them without crowding in one sturdy roasting pan. Roast, turning once, until deeply bronzed and safely cooked, removing each kind as it becomes ready: the birds must reach 165°F (74°C), and the rabbit at least 160°F (71°C), usually within 20 to 35 minutes. Rest the pieces for 10 minutes and save every juice they release.
- 3
Deglaze the roast-case
Pour away any loose fat from the roasting pan but leave its brown glaze intact. Add the Cognac away from the flame, then set the pan over low heat if its construction permits; otherwise, scrape everything into a small saucepan. Boil briskly for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping until the fond dissolves and the sharp smell of raw alcohol disappears. This reduced Cognac is the home equivalent of the source's burnt brandy, with the same purpose and no need for an open flame. If the fond clings stubbornly, add a spoonful of reserved lentil liquor and wait 30 seconds before scraping. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Measure the meats
Pull the roasted meat from the bones, removing skin, shot, cartilage, and tough sinew with care. Weigh 6 ounces (170 g) each of rabbit, partridge, and pheasant, keeping the three quantities equal exactly as the source directs. Chop the meats and add their resting juices to the deglazed roast gravy.
- 5
Pound the purée
Put the three chopped meats and the measured cooked lentils in a food processor. Process until they form a heavy, even paste, stopping several times to scrape the bowl. Keep going for 3 to 4 minutes; the original mortar demanded a cook's arm, while the machine gives one cook the same close pounding. With the motor running, add all the reserved lentil cooking liquor, followed by the Cognac-enriched roast gravy, and process until the mixture is as smooth as the machine can make it.
- 6
Pass the first sieve
Set a sturdy fine-mesh sieve over a 4-quart saucepan. Rub the purée through in small portions with a flexible scraper, pressing firmly and clearing the underside often. The food processor replaces brigade labor, but this passage is the dish: it removes the game fibers and lentil skins that no blade can make silken. If the paste is too stiff to pass, loosen only that portion with hot consommé, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) at a time. Stop when the sieve holds nothing but dry fibers.
A wide, strong sieve is kinder than a tiny tea strainer. Work with half a cup at a time and scrape the purée from the underside before adding the next portion. - 7
Let down with consommé
Whisk hot consommé gradually into the strained base until the coulis flows like light cream while retaining a deep game flavor. Bring it to a bare simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, then add enough consommé to make exactly 2 quarts (1.9 L). Pass the hot coulis through a clean fine strainer once more. If it is too thin, reduce it gently before adding the final butter; if it is too thick, add consommé by the spoonful. If it remains grainy, strain it again. Patience, not cream, makes the texture.
- 8
Toss the mushrooms
Melt the mushroom butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the finely minced mushrooms and toss for 2 to 3 minutes, just until their moisture has cooked away and every piece gleams with butter. Keep them tender and pale rather than frying them dry. Hold them warm while you finish the coulis.
- 9
Mount with butter
Return the coulis to just below a simmer, then remove it from the heat. Monter au beurre, finish by whisking in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, until the surface shines and the soup feels supple on the tongue. Season moderately with the remaining salt and white pepper. Do not boil it now. If the butter beads on the surface, whisk a ladleful of coulis with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cold consommé in a clean bowl until smooth, then whisk it back into the pot. Divide the butter-tossed mushrooms among warmed bowls and ladle in the coulis. À table!
Taste after the butter goes in. Consommé can carry considerable salt, and this coulis should taste round and game-rich, never aggressively seasoned.
Chef Tips
- •The equal measure of rabbit, partridge, and pheasant is not decorative. Their different flavors meet in a deliberate one-to-one-to-one ratio, so weigh the cooked boneless meat rather than guessing from the raw pieces.
- •Order the game from a butcher and ask for bone-in portions rather than three whole animals. If the meat was hunted, inspect it carefully for shot and damaged tissue before it reaches the processor.
- •Consommé is the liquid foundation, not filler. Use clear game consommé when available; a rich, unsalted chicken consommé is the honest home equivalent. Thin bouillon makes a thin-tasting coulis.
- •Cream does not belong in this source entry. Lentils, pounded meat, careful sieving, and the final butter create its cream-like body. We don't apologize for butter.
- •Serve modest first-course portions because the flavor is concentrated. A red Burgundy with lively acidity suits the game and butter without weighing the soup down.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook the lentils one day ahead if useful. Chill the drained lentils and their cooking liquor separately, then bring both toward room temperature before processing.
- •The game may be roasted, picked from the bones, weighed, and refrigerated with its deglazed pan gravy for up to one day.
- •The coulis may be prepared through the second straining one day ahead. Cool it promptly and refrigerate it covered; reheat gently, then toss the mushrooms and mount with cold butter only at serving time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 245g)
Calories
280 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
85 mg
Sodium
350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
25 g
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