Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
John Dory has the delicacy of sole and the firmness of turbot. A light flouring, a quick butter sauté, and nut-brown beurre noisette show exactly why looks never mattered.
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Crépinettes à la Cendrillon
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1411, Crépinettes à la Cendrillon, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Truffled pork crépinettes, sealed in all-butter pâte feuilletée and baked until deeply gilded, preserve the hearth’s clever idea: hold every juice close, let the pastry bronze, and serve them generously.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
40 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Crépinettes à la Cendrillon (truffled caul-wrapped pork parcels baked in pastry) teaches one true thing: the seal is the cooking method. Keep that seal complete and the pork bastes in its own truffled juices while the pastry turns butter-gold around it. Break it, and those juices escape onto the tray.
The first method assumed double buttered paper, a hearth bed of cinders, and burning embers kept alive above the parcels. The grand-kitchen translation replaced that hearth with individual ovals of paste, prepared by a pastry station and baked by the trayful. At home, cold all-butter pâte feuilletée (puff pastry), one baking sheet, and a thoroughly heated oven preserve the same intent for eight parcels, two per person. There is no saucier’s work to imitate and no sauce to invent. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The cinders, brigade quantities, and folded napkin presentation are scaffolding and can go. The cold, completely sealed pastry envelope is the dish and must stay. If the pastry softens or tears, stop and chill it before patching with a cold scrap. Ça se rattrape. The step that decides everything is the sealing, so make each parcel snug, cold, and without a vent before it meets the oven.
Crépinettes à la Cendrillon belong to the French grande-cuisine repertory rather than the larder of one particular region. Their name links Cendrillon to cendre, ash: the earlier method wrapped the sausages in double buttered paper and buried them beneath cinders topped with live embers, while the pastry version carried the same protected cooking into the grand kitchen. The oval paste was not decoration; it replaced the hearth’s paper envelope, preserving the juices while allowing the exterior to gild.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
raw crépinettes truffées
Quantity
8 Crépinettes Truffées (No. 1410), about 2½ oz (70 g) each
shaped and caul-wrapped, chilled, not grilled
cold all-butter pâte feuilletée
Quantity
18 oz (500 g)
plain flour
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 8 g)
for rolling
large egg
Quantity
1
cold water
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| raw crépinettes trufféesshaped and caul-wrapped, chilled, not grilled | 8 Crépinettes Truffées (No. 1410), about 2½ oz (70 g) each |
| cold all-butter pâte feuilletée | 18 oz (500 g) |
| plain flourfor rolling | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 8 g) |
| large egg | 1 |
| cold water | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy rimmed baking sheet, about 13 by 18 inches (33 by 46 cm)
- •Rolling pin
- •Pastry brush
- •Small sharp knife
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven
Set a rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven thoroughly to 400°F (200°C). Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment. Keep the crépinettes and pastry in the cold while the oven heats; cold pastry holds its butter in distinct layers, while warm pastry smears and bakes heavy.
- 2
Roll eight ovals
Dust the work surface sparingly with the flour. Divide the pâte feuilletée into eight equal pieces and roll each about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick into an oval roughly 7½ by 5½ inches (19 by 14 cm). Keep the unused pieces covered and cold. If an oval becomes limp or glossy, lay it on the lined sheet and chill it for 10 minutes before continuing.
- 3
Seal the crépinettes
Set one raw Crépinettes Truffées (No. 1410) across the center of each pastry oval. Brush the pastry ends and one long edge very lightly with cold water, then draw the long sides over the crépinette so they overlap by about ½ inch (1 cm). Press out trapped air without squeezing the meat, seal the overlap, and tuck the ends underneath. Set each parcel seam-side down. If the pastry tears or its butter begins to smear, stop and chill it for 10 minutes, then patch the tear with a thin cold scrap moistened around its edge. Ça se rattrape.
The pastry should hug the crépinette without stretching. Stretched pastry contracts in the oven and pulls open precisely where you need the seal. - 4
Chill and gild
Arrange the parcels at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart and chill them for 20 minutes. Beat the egg with the cold water, then gild the tops, meaning brush them with a thin, even coat of beaten egg. Keep the egg from pooling around the bases. With the back of a small knife, streak each top with four or five shallow curved lines, pressing just enough to mark the surface without piercing it. Do not cut vents; holding the juices inside is the point.
- 5
Bake to bronze
Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sheet after 15 minutes, until the parcels are well risen, deeply butter-gold, and bronzed along their highest ridges. Check one through its underside seam with an instant-read thermometer; the pork must reach 160°F (71°C). If the pastry colours before the center is ready, lay foil loosely over the sheet and continue in 3-minute intervals. If a seam leaks, leave it undisturbed until the pastry sets, then finish the bake rather than pressing hot pastry back together.
- 6
Rest and serve
Rest the crépinettes on the baking sheet for 5 minutes so their juices settle and the pastry firms. Transfer them to a warm oval platter and serve two per person while the crust is crisp and the truffled center remains succulent. No sauce underneath, no fussy garnish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The Crépinettes Truffées (No. 1410) come to this recipe raw and caul-wrapped, at the point before grilling. Their sausage, truffle, cooking liquor, and caul remain the work of their own entry; here you preserve their portion weight and change only the cooking envelope.
- •Choose pâte feuilletée made with real butter. Vegetable shortening leaves a waxy finish and cannot give the pastry its proper flavour. We don’t apologize for butter.
- •Don’t place sauce beneath the parcels. The source serves them simply, and a wet base softens the pastry you worked to keep crisp. A bitter green salad may sit alongside, never underneath.
- •A cru Beaujolais has enough freshness for the butter and pork without bullying the truffle. Serve it lightly cool, not cold.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) until the pastry is crisp and the center reaches 160°F (71°C).
Advance Preparation
- •The parcels can be assembled and refrigerated seam-side down for up to 6 hours. Cover them loosely so condensation does not soften the pastry, and gild them only just before baking.
- •The raw, caul-wrapped crépinettes can be prepared through their own entry up to 24 hours ahead and kept thoroughly chilled.
- •For the best rise, place the assembled parcels in the freezer for 10 minutes while the oven completes its preheating. They should become firm, not frozen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 240g)
Calories
950 calories
Total Fat
69 g
Saturated Fat
33 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
32 g
Cholesterol
225 mg
Sodium
1350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
49 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
30 g
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