Poularde Chipolata

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy oval covered casserole, 6 to 7 quarts (5.7 to 6.6 L)
• •Wide lidded sauté pan, 12 inches (30 cm)
• •Fine-mesh strainer and shallow spoon for degreasing
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Organize the garniture

   Set out one wide sauté pan, several small bowls for the finished garnishes, and a heavy oval covered casserole large enough to hold the whole poularde. Peel the onions, trim the optional carrots, cut the bacon, and pat the chipolatas dry. Keeping the garnishes separate now is what lets each retain its own texture during the final simmer.

   A 6 to 7-quart oval casserole is the honest home equivalent of the Terrine à Pâté. It must hold the bird snugly without crushing the garniture.
2. 2

   Poêle the poularde

   Cook the seasoned poularde by Poëlings (No. 250), scaled for this 4 to 4½ lb bird. Follow that preparation as written, including its colouring and the finishing of its cooking-liquor; this entry reaches for the preparation whole rather than rebuilding it. Reserve all the strained, carefully degreased cooking-liquor, about 1 to 1½ cups. Set the cooked bird in the oval casserole and cover it loosely. While it cooks, prepare the garniture in the following sequence.

3. 3

   Fry the bacon

   Set the sauté pan over medium heat and add the bacon without extra fat. Fry until it has rendered and the edges are bronzed but the centres still have some tenderness, about 6 minutes. Lift the pieces into a bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour off the bacon fat and wipe the pan, leaving no burnt specks behind.

4. 4

   Poach the chipolatas

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter over low heat. Add the chipolatas and cook them gently in the butter for 8 to 10 minutes, turning often, until their casings are lightly gilded and the sausages are nearly cooked. The butter should murmur, never brown hard. If a casing begins to split, take the pan off the heat at once and let the residual warmth finish this stage; the sausage will complete its cooking during the final simmer. Lift the chipolatas into a separate bowl.

5. 5

   Glaze the vegetables

   Wipe the pan and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter. If using carrots, add them first with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 4 g) sugar, a pinch of salt, and ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) water; cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the pearl onions with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, another pinch of salt, and enough water to come halfway up their sides. Cover and cook until nearly tender, about 8 minutes, then uncover and roll the vegetables through the reducing liquid until it becomes a clear amber glaze. If the sugar catches, pull the pan from the heat and add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water around the edge. Stir gently until smooth, then return it to low heat.

6. 6

   Cook the chestnuts

   Bring the chicken consommé to a bare simmer in the wiped sauté pan. Add the chestnuts and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes, swirling the pan rather than stirring, until the chestnuts are hot through and have absorbed some of the consommé. Never boil them; whole chestnuts bruise and crumble under rough handling. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Keep any large broken pieces for the casserole, but do not add the remaining consommé to the dish, which calls for the poularde's own cooking-liquor.

7. 7

   Unite for ten minutes

   Arrange the chipolatas, glazed onions, chestnuts, bacon, and optional carrots around the poularde in the casserole, leaving its browned breast exposed. Pour in all the reserved cooking-liquor. Cover, set over low heat, and bring the liquid to the barest simmer. Start the timer only when the surface begins to tremble, then hold it there for exactly 10 minutes, spooning liquor over the bird once halfway through. At the end, the chipolatas must register 160°F (71°C), and the innermost thigh of the poularde must register at least 165°F (74°C). If the cooking-liquor looks greasy or thin, don't boil the assembled dish harder. Lift the poularde and garniture to a warm platter, let the liquor settle for one minute, skim the surface, and reduce it alone until glossy. If it tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of hot water. Ça se rattrape. Return everything to the casserole, carry it whole to the table, and carve there. À table!

   The ten-minute simmer is not merely reheating. It is when the garnish takes the bird's flavour and the cooking-liquor takes the savour of the garnish.

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a plump young hen raised for tenderness and a generous layer of fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a broad-breasted roasting chicken of the same weight. Technique first, always; careful poêlé cooking matters more than a grand label.
• •Choose plain fresh pork chipolatas with fine-textured meat and mild seasoning. Breakfast links sweetened with maple or strongly seasoned with sage pull the dish away from its classical balance.
• •Vacuum-packed whole chestnuts are the honest home equivalent to peeling and precooking fresh chestnuts. They hold their shape better than soft canned purée, and the consommé still gives them the savour the original requires.
• •Butter, not oil, for the chipolatas and glazed vegetables. Its sweetness connects the sausage, onions, and chestnuts to the butter-rich poularde. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Pour a supple red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais. The wine needs enough freshness to meet the sausage and bacon, but no heavy tannin to bully the tender bird.

Advance Preparation

• •Up to one day ahead, fry the bacon, glaze the onions and optional carrots, and cook the chestnuts in consommé. Cool everything promptly, cover the components separately, and refrigerate. Bring them out while the poularde cooks so they lose their deepest chill.
• •Cook the poularde and butter-poach the chipolatas on the serving day. Assemble the casserole only when both are ready; the final ten-minute simmer cannot be done ahead without softening the garnish and overcooking the bird.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and keep them for up to three days. Carve the remaining poultry before chilling, then reheat it gently with the garniture and cooking-liquor until it reaches 165°F (74°C).

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)