Chef Juliette
Pullets and Capons for Relevés
Three roads through the Paris poultry canon, poach, poêler, or braise, with one rule beneath them all: protect the breast with bacon while the legs cook, then turn the liquor into sauce.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Poularde à la Chivry
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1461, Poularde à la Chivry, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Poached poularde under a glossy herb-green Chivry sauce, with a separate butter-bound macédoine: a composed lesson in gentle heat, clean stock, and knowing when the sauce must leave the fire.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield4 servings
Poularde à la Chivry (poached young hen with herb-green velouté) teaches the discipline of gentle heat. The chicken must poach at a tremble, but the one true thing to know before touching a pan is this: once the green butter is in the finished sauce, that sauce must never boil. A boil steals its fresh color and presses the herbs flat.
The book assumed a saucier on staff, poultry stock never off the fire, Chivry Sauce (No. 78) ready to hand, and another cook tending a Macédoine (a small-cut mixture of young vegetables). Your equivalent is one plump bird for four, the finished sauce prepared from its own entry, and one vegetable pot into which the vegetables go in stages. Linen straining and a dedicated sauce station are brigade scaffolding and remain inside the separate sauce recipe. Gentle poaching, coating the bird, and serving the macédoine apart are the dish, so all three stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the flesh is tender and juicy beneath a pale herb-green sauce that gleams rather than runs, while the vegetables remain bright and distinct under their film of butter. I use the book's butter option to bind the macédoine because the velouté already supplies ample richness. Reserve a little poaching liquid before the final warming. The step that matters most is the last one: low flame, patient spoon, no bubble.
Poularde à la Chivry belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen table, where a gently poached bird was paired with a named derivative of velouté and a separate vegetable garnish rather than buried in one pot. In the canon, Chivry identifies an herb-infused poultry velouté enriched with green butter, and its insistence on young pimpernel is practical because mature leaves become bitter. The macédoine served apart is structural, preserving each vegetable's color and bite while the tender bird receives the sauce.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
poularde or plump whole chicken
Quantity
1, about 4 lb (1.8 kg)
giblets removed
light, low-sodium chicken stock
Quantity
4 cups (960 ml / about 960 g)
water
Quantity
4 to 6 cups (960 ml to 1.4 L / 960 g to 1.4 kg)
enough to cover the bird
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium (about 8 oz / 225 g)
peeled and quartered
carrots for poaching
Quantity
2 medium (about 6 oz / 170 g)
cut into large pieces
leek
Quantity
1 (about 5 oz / 140 g)
white and pale green parts washed and cut into large pieces
celery
Quantity
1 stalk (about 2 oz / 55 g)
cut into large pieces
bouquet garni of parsley stems, thyme, and bay leaf
Quantity
1
black peppercorns
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 3 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
divided
Chivry Sauce
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / about 480 g) Chivry Sauce (No. 78)
slender young carrots
Quantity
4 (about 6 oz / 170 g)
peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
young turnip
Quantity
1 small (about 6 oz / 170 g)
peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
green beans
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 120 g)
trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
fresh or frozen peas
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 145 g)
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
ground white pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| poularde or plump whole chickengiblets removed | 1, about 4 lb (1.8 kg) |
| light, low-sodium chicken stock | 4 cups (960 ml / about 960 g) |
| waterenough to cover the bird | 4 to 6 cups (960 ml to 1.4 L / 960 g to 1.4 kg) |
| yellow onionpeeled and quartered | 1 medium (about 8 oz / 225 g) |
| carrots for poachingcut into large pieces | 2 medium (about 6 oz / 170 g) |
| leekwhite and pale green parts washed and cut into large pieces | 1 (about 5 oz / 140 g) |
| celerycut into large pieces | 1 stalk (about 2 oz / 55 g) |
| bouquet garni of parsley stems, thyme, and bay leaf | 1 |
| black peppercorns | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 3 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
| Chivry Sauce | 2 cups (480 ml / about 480 g) Chivry Sauce (No. 78) |
| slender young carrotspeeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice | 4 (about 6 oz / 170 g) |
| young turnippeeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice | 1 small (about 6 oz / 170 g) |
| green beanstrimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces | 1 cup (240 ml / 120 g) |
| fresh or frozen peas | 1 cup (240 ml / 145 g) |
| unsalted butter | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| ground white pepperdivided | 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •6 to 8-quart (5.7 to 7.6 L) tall stockpot with lid
- •Parchment paper for a cartouche
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •3-quart (2.8 L) pot for the vegetables
- •10 to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) wide sauté pan
- •2-quart (1.9 L) saucepan
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Kitchen twine
- •Warm oval platter and sauceboat
Instructions
- 1
Build the poaching liquor
Set the stock, 4 cups of the water, onion, poaching carrots, leek, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a tall 6 to 8-quart pot. Bring them slowly to a bare simmer and cook for 15 minutes, just long enough for the vegetables and herbs to perfume the liquid. Meanwhile, tuck the chicken's wing tips beneath its back and tie the legs together. Trussing keeps the bird compact so the breast and legs cook at nearly the same pace.
- 2
Poach at a tremble
Lower the poularde into the liquor, breast side up, and add enough hot water to cover it by about 1 inch. Press a cartouche, a round of parchment laid directly on the liquid, over the bird and cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Bring the liquid back only to a tremble, about 180 to 190°F (82 to 88°C), then poach for 50 to 60 minutes. The chicken is ready when the thickest part of the breast reaches at least 165°F (74°C) and the inner thigh reaches about 170°F (77°C), without the thermometer touching bone. If the liquid breaks into a boil, uncover the pot and pull it off the burner for two minutes, then resume over lower heat. The outer flesh may firm slightly, but the bird is not lost.
- 3
Cut the macédoine
While the chicken poaches, check the diced carrots, turnip, and beans against one another. The pieces should be close to the same 1/4-inch size, not for decoration but so they become tender together. Bring a medium pot of water to a strong simmer and season it with the remaining teaspoon of salt.
- 4
Blanch in stages
Add the diced carrots and turnip to the salted water. After 2 minutes, add the beans; after another 2 minutes, add the peas and cook for 1 minute more. Taste a piece of carrot and turnip before draining. They should be tender under the teeth but still hold their shape. Drain thoroughly and spread the vegetables on a tray so trapped water can escape. If they sit in a wet heap, the butter will slide off instead of binding them.
- 5
Rest the poularde
Lift the cooked poularde with two sturdy spoons, tipping it over the pot so the cavity drains completely. Set it breast side up on a rack over a tray, cover loosely, and rest for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve at least 1 cup (240 ml / about 240 g) of the poaching liquid. That liquid is both your seasoning check and your sauce rescue, so don't send it down the sink.
- 6
Bind the vegetables
Set the drained macédoine in a wide sauté pan over low heat for 30 seconds, tossing until no water gathers beneath it. Add the butter and half the white pepper, then turn the vegetables gently until every piece shines and the butter forms a light, cohesive glaze. Taste and adjust the salt. If liquid appears in the pan, lift out the vegetables, reduce the liquid until only a spoonful remains, and return them with a small piece of the measured butter.
- 7
Warm the sauce gently
Set the finished Chivry Sauce (No. 78) in a clean saucepan over the lowest heat and stir until it is fluid, glossy, and warm enough to serve. Never let a bubble break the surface. The green herb butter is already part of this finished component; boiling now turns its color dull olive and can drive the butter out of the velouté. If the sauce is too tight, whisk in hot reserved poaching liquid 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) at a time. If it looks oily, take it off the heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold poaching liquid until it comes together again. Ça se rattrape.
- 8
Coat and serve
Warm an oval platter and a separate serving bowl. Remove the trussing string, blot any moisture from the poularde, and settle it on the platter. Spoon over enough Chivry Sauce (No. 78) to coat the breast and legs generously, letting a little pool around the bird, then pour the remainder into a warm sauceboat. Transfer the butter-bound macédoine to its own bowl, as the book directs, rather than crowding it beneath the sauce. Finish with the remaining white pepper only if the vegetables need it. Carry both dishes to the table at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •A true poularde is a plump young hen raised for tender flesh and generous fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a compact 4-pound chicken with a well-covered breast. The richness changes slightly, but careful poaching matters more than the pedigree.
- •The Chivry Sauce (No. 78) is a finished preparation, not a garnish stirred together at the last moment. Once it reaches this dish, warm it only. If it boils and turns olive, extra parsley cannot restore the clean color.
- •New vegetables describe tenderness as much as season. Outside spring, use small carrots and turnips, fine green beans, and frozen peas picked at their peak. An honest frozen pea is far better than a tired fresh one.
- •Use a tall pot that holds the bird snugly. A broad stockpot demands far more liquid, dilutes the poaching liquor, and lets the chicken roll about whenever you lift the lid.
- •Pour a restrained white Burgundy or a dry Loire Chenin Blanc. The wine needs enough body for the velouté and enough freshness to follow the herbs without flattening them.
- •Chill leftovers within two hours and keep the chicken, sauce, and vegetables in separate covered containers for up to 2 days. Reheat the chicken with a little poaching liquid, then warm the sauce separately over the gentlest heat.
Advance Preparation
- •The poularde can be trussed up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it out while the poaching liquor receives its 15-minute simmer.
- •Cut the carrots, turnip, and beans up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerate them in separate covered containers. Keep frozen peas frozen until the blanching water is ready.
- •The macédoine can be blanched up to 2 hours before serving. Refresh it briefly in cold water, dry it thoroughly, and bind it with butter only at the finish.
- •Have the Chivry Sauce (No. 78) completed shortly before service. It may wait, covered and off the heat, for about 30 minutes, then be rewarmed as directed without boiling.
- •Poach the bird close to serving time. Its 15-minute rest gives one cook enough time to bind the vegetables and warm the sauce without holding the chicken until it dries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 480g)
Calories
800 calories
Total Fat
54 g
Saturated Fat
24 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
26 g
Cholesterol
245 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
20 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
58 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Poultry (Volaille)
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
The Way to Serve Poultry Relevés Quickly and Hot
The service method that protects a grand poultry dish: carve the suprêmes in the kitchen, keep them in their liquor, rebuild the bird with pilaf, and send every guest a hot, complete plate.
Chef Juliette
Poularde Albufera
The marshal’s poularde teaches gentle poaching: a rice-stuffed bird held at a bare tremble, then cloaked in sauce Albuféra and surrounded by truffle tartlets, tiny quenelles, mushrooms, and salted tongue.
Chef Juliette
Poularde Alexandra
Poularde Alexandra turns one poached bird into a small ceremony: truffle and tongue in the sliced suprêmes, feather-light mousseline beneath a bronzed Mornay coat, and buttered asparagus tartlets all around.