The Way to Serve Poultry Relevés Quickly and Hot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy roasting pan or 12-inch (30 cm) ovenproof skillet
• •2-quart (2 L) saucepan with a tight lid
• •12-inch (30 cm) sauté pan
• •Shallow lidded pan for holding the suprêmes
• •Kitchen shears and flexible boning knife
• •14-inch (35 cm) oval ovenproof platter
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the bird

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the lower third. Rub the chicken with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter, then season it inside and out with 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) of the salt and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) of the pepper. Roast breast-side up in a heavy pan until the skin is deep bronze, the centre of the breast reaches at least 165°F (74°C), and the thigh reaches 170 to 175°F (77 to 80°C), about 50 to 60 minutes. If the breast darkens before the thigh is ready, cover only the breast loosely with foil and continue roasting. Rest the bird on a board for 15 minutes, keeping every drop of its juice.

2. 2

   Cook the pilaf

   While the chicken roasts, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a lidded saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook without browning until translucent, then stir in the rice for 2 minutes, until every grain shines and its edges look faintly glassy. Add 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) of the stock, ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g) of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) of the pepper. Bring it to a simmer, cover tightly, and cook over the lowest heat for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. If the bottom catches, spoon the clean rice into another saucepan without scraping the scorched layer, add a spoonful of measured stock, and finish gently.

3. 3

   Reduce the jus

   Pour excess fat from the roasting pan but leave its brown fond, the caramelized roasting deposits, in place. Add 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the stock and scrape up every brown morsel over medium heat. If the roasting pan cannot sit safely on a burner, pour the hot stock into it, scrape thoroughly, and transfer everything to a saucepan. Boil until reduced to about ⅔ cup (160 ml / 160 g), then strain. Stir in the truffle preserving liquor, if using, and hold the reduction warm without adding its finishing butter yet. Black patches taste bitter, so leave those behind; the brown fond builds the sauce.

4. 4

   Lift the suprêmes

   Warm the remaining ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) stock in a shallow lidded pan to 140 to 150°F (60 to 65°C), then add the chicken’s resting juices. Cut down either side of the breastbone and follow the ribs with a flexible knife, lifting off the two suprêmes, the whole breast fillets, with their skin intact. Lay them skin-side up in the warm cooking liquor, which should reach only halfway up their undersides, and cover. Keep the liquor below a simmer; boiling tightens meat that is already properly cooked. If it does boil, move the pan off the heat and add a spoonful of cool stock before returning the suprêmes.

5. 5

   Rebuild the bird

   Using kitchen shears, remove the exposed breastbone and any sharp rib tips while leaving the back, legs, and wings connected. Warm the cream, fold it through the pilaf, and taste the rice. It should be creamy enough to mound but not run; loosen stiff rice with a spoonful of the holding liquor, or cook loose rice uncovered for 2 minutes. Set the chicken frame at one end of a warmed oval ovenproof platter, fill the breast cavity generously with pilaf, and smooth it into the rounded line of the original breast. If the frame tears or slumps, pack rice beneath the weak point and shape it again. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Fry croûtons and foie

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Fry the bread on both sides until deep gold with crisp edges; these are the croûtons, pieces of bread fried in butter. Arrange them around the chicken. Wipe away loose crumbs, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, and raise the heat to medium-high. Season the foie gras with the remaining salt and pepper, then sauté it for 30 to 45 seconds per side, just until bronze and yielding. If it begins shedding fat and collapsing rapidly, lift it out immediately, cool the pan for a moment, and resume over gentler heat. Place one escalope on each croûton.

7. 7

   Slice and flash

   Raise the oven to 425°F (220°C). Lift the suprêmes from their liquor only now and slice them diagonally into 8 thick, even pieces. Lay 2 slices over each foie gras croûton and crown each portion with black truffle. Put the assembled platter in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, only long enough to bring every surface to the same heat. Do not wait for further browning. If the suprêmes have cooled before slicing, warm them whole in their liquor for another 2 minutes instead of leaving the finished platter in the oven longer.

8. 8

   Serve in two minutes

   Warm four plates with very hot water, then drain and dry them. Bring the reduced jus to the barest simmer, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the final 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter until glossy. If it looks greasy or separates, whisk in 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) cold water off the heat. Carry the platter and sauce separately to the table. Give each guest one garnished croûton, a generous spoonful of pilaf from the bird, and jus poured at the last moment. Serve all four plates without pause. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The original poularde was a plump, specially fattened pullet. A broad-breasted 4-pound (1.8 kg) roasting chicken is its honest home equivalent: large enough to yield eight generous breast slices, but young enough to roast before the garnish waits.
• •Use stock with real body and modest salt. If yours is thin, reduce it slightly before measuring; the fond and final butter can round good stock, but they cannot give weak stock a backbone.
• •A good preserved black truffle is the classical pantry’s answer outside the fresh season. Drain it well, keep its liquor for the jus, and cut broad slices rather than scattering tasteless black crumbs.
• •Fresh foie gras must be raw and cut into escalopes. Foie gras torchon or pâté cannot be sautéed. If raw foie gras is unavailable, choose the source’s creamy-noodle or mousseline construction on another evening rather than pretending the substitution is invisible.
• •The Mornay sauce branch, coated and quickly gratinéed, is a separate presentation. Combining that cheese-enriched béchamel with the Derby arrangement of foie gras and truffle makes a muddle of two complete ideas.
• •The source keeps the legs and carcass in the kitchen. At home they remain excellent food: cool them within 2 hours, refrigerate for up to 3 days, serve the legs at lunch, and turn the bones into stock.
• •Pour a full-bodied white Burgundy. It has enough weight for foie gras and truffle without crowding the chicken or its butter-mounted jus.

Advance Preparation

• •The stock may be made up to 3 days ahead and kept cold, or frozen for longer storage. Warm only the measured quantity when service begins.
• •The pilaf may be cooked up to 6 hours ahead. Spread it in a shallow dish, chill it within 1 hour, and refrigerate; reheat it covered with a spoonful of stock to 165°F (74°C), then fold in the warm cream.
• •Cut the croûtons, portion the foie gras, and slice the truffle earlier in the day. Keep the foie gras and truffle covered and refrigerated, then bring out only when the chicken begins its rest.
• •Roast and carve the bird close to serving. The method protects a short pause beautifully, but it was never designed to revive poultry cooked hours earlier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)