Oreilles à la Rouennaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart heavy pot
• •2-quart wide saucepan
• •12-inch ovenproof skillet
• •Fine-mesh skimmer or shallow spoon
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Digital kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean and poach

   Inspect every fold of the ears, removing any remaining bristles and scraping away dark residue. Put them in a heavy pot with the cold water, salt, carrot, leek, onion, celery, and bouquet garni. The salt reproduces the book's proportion of roughly one-third ounce per quart. Bring the liquid slowly to a bare simmer, skim the surface, and cook uncovered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Add a little hot water if the ears become exposed. They are ready when a knife enters the thick base easily but the ear can still be lifted intact. Lift them onto a tray, strain and reserve 1 cup of the poaching liquid, and let the ears cool until manageable.

   If the thin tips soften before the bases are tender, fold them against the thicker portions and tie each ear loosely with kitchen string. This protects the tips while the dense base finishes cooking.
2. 2

   Reduce the sauce

   While the ears poach, boil the stock in a wide saucepan until about 1 1/4 cups remain. Add 1/2 cup of the Madeira and reduce again to about 1 cup. This is the home demi-glace, the classical half-glaze, built in one pan rather than drawn from a stockpot and handed to a saucier. It should be dark, glossy, and able to coat a spoon without setting like glue. If it tightens too far, loosen it with the reserved poaching liquid, one tablespoon at a time. Measure 1/3 cup for the ears and reserve the remainder.

3. 3

   Cut and glaze

   Cut each ear across the natural change in thickness, separating the fleshy base from the thinner upper cartilage. Mince the thick portions finely. Cut the thin portions across into eight neat collops, meaning thin oval slices, trimming only what prevents them from lying flat. Put the mince and collops into a small saucepan with the measured 1/3 cup Madeira demi-glace. Hold them at the gentlest simmer for 30 minutes, stirring the mince and turning the collops occasionally. If the glaze threatens to catch, add a spoonful of poaching liquid. Ça se rattrape. Separate the collops, spread everything on a tray, and chill until fully cold.

4. 4

   Mix the filling

   Combine the cold minced ear, sausage meat, and chopped parsley. Mix with cold hands just until evenly distributed and cohesive; prolonged kneading makes the filling rubbery. If the ear is still warm, stop and chill it before mixing, since warmth smears the sausage fat and costs you the juicy texture. Divide the mixture into eight portions of about 3 ounces, or 85 grams, and shape each into a squat oval patty.

5. 5

   Wrap the crépinettes

   Soak the rinsed caul fat in cold water for 15 minutes if it feels stiff, then drain and pat it gently dry. Lay out one square, place a patty in the centre, and set one reserved ear collop flat against its upper face. Fold the caul snugly around the patty in a single layer, trimming heavy overlaps, and place it seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining portions, then chill the crépinettes for 30 minutes so their shape firms.

   The book's repeated cross-reference is Crépinettes Truffées (No. 1410), which supplies the canonical caul-wrapped shape only. Its truffles, cooking liquor, and Périgueux sauce belong to that finished preparation and do not enter this one.
6. 6

   Grill them gently

   Set an oven rack about 6 inches, or 15 centimetres, below the broiler and heat the broiler. Place a large ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the crépinettes seam-side down without extra fat and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn and cook the second side for 4 to 5 minutes. The caul should render slowly and turn golden while the centres reach about 140°F, or 60°C. If a parcel sticks, wait rather than forcing it; rendered caul releases when browned. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter, brush it over the tops, and scatter on the raspings. Broil until deeply bronzed and cooked to 160°F, or 71°C, about 2 to 4 minutes. If the crumbs colour before the centres are ready, move the skillet to a 350°F, or 180°C, oven to finish gently.

7. 7

   Finish Madeira sauce

   Transfer the crépinettes to a warm platter and let them settle while you finish the sauce. Bring the reserved reduction to a gentle simmer with the remaining 1/4 cup Madeira and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the wine's raw edge has gone and the sauce again coats a spoon. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter. If the sauce looks greasy, whisk a teaspoon of hot poaching liquid in a clean warm pan, then add the sauce gradually until it comes back together. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Dish in a circle

   Arrange the eight crépinettes in a generous circle on the warm platter, keeping their buttered, bronzed faces upward. Pour the Madeira sauce into a warmed sauceboat and pass it at the table, allowing each person to spoon on as much as wanted. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the ears and caul fat from a butcher in advance. Ask for ears that have already been scalded, singed, and cleaned, but inspect the folds yourself before cooking. Caul freezes very well, so buy an extra piece when you find it.
• •Choose plain fresh pork sausage meat, rich with shoulder and belly but free of sage, fennel, garlic, or smoke. The source relies on the pork, parsley, ear, and Madeira; a strongly seasoned breakfast sausage sends the dish somewhere else.
• •Caul fat is not decorative wrapping. It bastes the sausage as it renders and holds the collop against the crépinette, so bacon, pastry, or synthetic casing changes both texture and cooking. This is one ingredient worth waiting for.
• •Use a dry Madeira such as Sercial or Verdelho. A sweet bottle turns cloying once reduced. A dry Norman cider alongside cuts through the pork and keeps the regional table properly in focus.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the ears and make the Madeira reduction up to 2 days ahead. Chill the ears in a covered container with a spoonful of their poaching liquid, and refrigerate the sauce separately.
• •The ears can be cut and glazed a day ahead. Cool them promptly, cover, and keep chilled until the sausage mixture is assembled.
• •Shape and wrap the crépinettes up to 24 hours before cooking. Keep them covered and cold, seam-side down; add the butter and raspings only when they are ready for the broiler.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)