Poularde Alexandra

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart (5.7 L) close-fitting stockpot
• •Slim boning knife, metal skewer, and kitchen twine
• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Eight 2¾-inch (7 cm) tartlet tins or rings
• •Large oval broiler-safe porcelain gratin platter
• •Wide sauté pan and 2-quart saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make tartlet pastry

   Work the 1¼ cups flour, cold diced butter, and ¼ teaspoon salt together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add one egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water, mixing only until the dough gathers; add the final spoonful of water only if dry flour remains. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes. This rest keeps the little shells tender and prevents them shrinking away from their tins.

2. 2

   Lard the poularde

   Pat the poularde dry. Working from the neck opening so the breast skin remains intact, loosen the skin carefully with your fingers. Use a slim boning knife or metal skewer to make four narrow tunnels lengthwise through each breast, keeping the blade nearly parallel to the breastbone. Push one tongue baton and one truffle baton together into each channel with the skewer. Season the cavity and exterior with 1½ teaspoons salt and a little white pepper, then truss the legs and wings close to the body.

   A larding needle is convenient, not sacred. The narrow knife makes the channel and the blunt skewer pushes the garnish through without tearing the breast into a pocket.
3. 3

   Poach without boiling

   Heat the chicken stock in a close-fitting stockpot to 180°F (82°C). Lower in the poularde breast-side up; the stock should cover it, so add a little boiling water only if the shape of your pot demands it. Lay a parchment round on the surface and hold the liquid between 175 and 185°F (80 and 85°C), with only an occasional lazy bubble, for 55 to 70 minutes. The breast must reach 165°F (74°C) and the thickest part of the thigh at least the same temperature. A rolling boil tightens the meat and batters the skin. Lift the bird onto a rack for 10 minutes, strain the liquor, and reserve at least 4 cups.

   Judge the poularde by the thermometer, not the clock. Shape, starting temperature, and the depth of the stock matter more than its stated weight.
4. 4

   Bake tartlet shells

   While the poularde poaches, heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll the rested pastry between two sheets of parchment to about ⅛ inch (3 mm), cut eight rounds, and line eight 2¾-inch (7 cm) tartlet tins. Prick the bases, chill for 10 minutes, then line with small parchment squares and baking weights. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, remove the weights, and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes until crisp and evenly golden. If a base has puffed, press it down gently while still warm. Turn the oven down to 300°F (150°C).

5. 5

   Make the mousseline

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade for 10 minutes. Process the diced raw chicken with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon white pepper until smooth and tacky, then add the cold egg white. With the motor running, add ½ cup of the cold cream in a thin stream. Stop and scrape often, because friction warms the paste. Add the remaining cream a spoonful at a time only while the mousseline remains glossy and stiff enough to hold a mound. Poach a teaspoonful in barely trembling water until its centre reaches 165°F (74°C), then taste it. If it is rubbery, work in another spoonful of cream. If it spreads or sheds liquid, stop adding cream and set the bowl over ice for 10 minutes before testing again.

6. 6

   Exchange the suprêmes

   Cut an oval through the skin around each breast, then follow the keel and ribs with the knife to lift both larded suprêmes whole. Cover them in a shallow dish with ½ cup hot poaching liquor and keep them warm. Set the remaining poularde breast-side up in the broiler-safe serving dish. Spoon the mousseline into the two breast hollows, reserving 2 tablespoons for repairs, and smooth it with a wet spatula into the original rounded shape of the bird. Pour 1 cup hot poaching liquor around, but not over, the mousseline, and tent loosely with parchment. Poach in the 300°F (150°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the centre of the mousseline reaches 165°F (74°C). If fat or cream beads on the surface and the shape begins to sink, lower the oven to 275°F (135°C), blot without pressing, patch the hollow with the reserved mousseline, and continue gently until the repair also reaches 165°F (74°C). Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Build sauce and glaze

   While the mousseline poaches, boil 3 cups strained poaching liquor in a wide pan until reduced to about ½ cup, pale, glossy, and lightly syrupy. Skim away any fat as it rises. If salt becomes strong before the glaze gains body, add a little unsalted stock and reduce again. Whisk in the cold tablespoon of butter at the end and keep this pale glaze warm. For the Mornay sauce, melt the ¼ cup butter in a saucepan, stir in the ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, and cook this white roux for 2 minutes without colouring it. Add the milk gradually, whisking smooth, and simmer gently for 8 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the Gruyère and Parmesan. Whisk the remaining egg yolk with the ¼ cup cream, temper it with a ladle of sauce, then whisk it back into the Mornay with the nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Warm it over the lowest heat just until it coats a spoon heavily, but never let it boil. If it turns grainy, pull it from the heat, whisk in the reserved cold milk, and pass it through a fine sieve.

8. 8

   Fill the tartlets

   Blanch the asparagus heads in well-salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender at the cut end but still bright green. Drain and dry them thoroughly, then turn them in the 2 tablespoons butter over low heat until cohered by a fine, glossy coating. Warm the tartlet shells for 3 minutes, divide the asparagus among them, and arrange the tips neatly. Lift the reserved suprêmes from their liquor and slice each crosswise into four even collops, so the tongue and truffle show in every cut. Set one collop on each tartlet and brush it lightly with warm pale glaze. Cover loosely and keep warm.

9. 9

   Coat and glaze

   Heat the broiler fully. Lift the poularde from its poaching liquor, drain the serving dish, and blot the mousseline and skin carefully; Mornay slides from a wet surface. Spoon the sauce over the upper surface and sides in a generous, even coat. If it runs rather than clings, return the remaining sauce to the pan for a minute of gentle reduction, blot the bird again, and recoat it. Set the dish 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 cm) beneath the broiler for 2 to 4 minutes, turning once if necessary, until the Mornay is butter-gold in scattered patches. Watch without leaving. This is a quick glaze, not another cooking.

10. 10

    Finish the presentation

    Arrange the eight warm tartlets closely around the glazed poularde. Spoon a narrow, unbroken thread of pale glaze around the base of the bird, keeping it off the bronzed Mornay. Bring the whole piece to the table, then give each person two tartlets, some leg or wing meat, and a spoonful of the tender mousseline. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a plump, tender hen with enough breast to hold the larding and enough presence for the platter. If your butcher doesn't carry one, choose a broad-breasted roasting chicken around 4 pounds; a much larger bird throws off the poaching time and overwhelms the tartlets.
• •Buy cooked cured tongue from a good butcher or delicatessen, and use a whole black truffle, fresh or preserved. Truffle oil cannot make the dark, fragrant pieces that should appear inside every slice of suprême.
• •The dish truly needs asparagus heads. In their season, choose slim, tightly closed spears; outside it, frozen tips picked at their peak are the honest pantry answer, thawed and dried carefully before their brief turn in butter.
• •The mousseline mixture, processor bowl, blade, egg white, and cream must all stay cold. Warm forcemeat loses its emulsion before the oven has a chance to set it, which is why the test quenelle earns its place.
• •Pour a full-bodied white Burgundy or a dry Champagne. Both have enough freshness for the Mornay and enough breadth for tongue, truffle, and butter.

Advance Preparation

• •The tartlet shells can be baked one day ahead and kept airtight at room temperature. Warm them briefly before filling so the buttered asparagus doesn't soften their bases.
• •The Mornay sauce can be prepared one day ahead. Press parchment directly onto its surface, chill it, and reheat over very low heat with a spoonful of milk before adding the yolk-and-cream liaison.
• •The mousseline can be processed and tested up to 4 hours ahead, then held tightly covered over ice in the refrigerator. Shape it onto the poularde only when the bird is ready for its second poach.
• •Poach, reconstruct, coat, and glaze the poularde on the day it is served. The tartlets and sauce may wait for the bird, but the finished mousseline should come to the table promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 670g)