Poularde Cussy

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 7-quart heavy cocotte with lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Blender or food mill
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Rimmed broiler-safe tray
• •Small silver shell or ¾-cup (180 ml) porcelain ramekin
• •Large warmed oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the poularde

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Take the poularde from the cold 30 minutes before cooking, remove any giblets, and dry the skin thoroughly. Season inside and out with 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) of the salt and all the white pepper, then truss the legs close to the body so the bird cooks evenly. Wet skin cannot brown, and browning is the foundation of the sauce.

2. 2

   Make artichoke purée

   Put the artichoke bottoms in a saucepan with the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) of the salt, and enough water to cover. Simmer gently until a knife passes through without resistance, 12 to 18 minutes. Drain very thoroughly, then return them to the dry pan over low heat for 2 minutes so excess water evaporates. Blend with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter and the cream until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. The purée must hold a soft mound inside a mushroom cap; if it slumps, stir it over low heat until it tightens. Keep it covered and warm.

   Frozen artichoke bottoms are the honest classical pantry answer when fresh artichokes are poor or out of season. They give you the heart without an afternoon of trimming leaves.
3. 3

   Brown the bird

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter in a heavy cocotte over medium heat. When the foam subsides, brown the poularde on the breast, both legs, and the back, turning carefully until the skin is a deep butter-gold, 10 to 14 minutes. Lift it to a plate. If the butter darkens before the bird colours, lower the heat and replace only the scorched fat; preserve every brown, not black, trace of fond on the pot floor.

4. 4

   Build the short braise

   Add the Mirepoix (No. 228) to the cocotte and cook it in the poultry fat for 4 minutes, stirring until its edges begin to colour. Pour in ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) of the Madeira and scrape the pot floor clean, then reduce by half. Return the poularde breast-side up and pour in only enough chicken stock to rise one third of the way up the bird, usually 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g); reserve the rest. Add any reserved truffle preserving liquid. Cover and braise in the oven for 50 minutes.

   Do not add stock to cover the bird. The short moistening is the dish: concentrated liquid becomes sauce, while a flooded pot gives you something thin that must reduce for too long.
5. 5

   Cook the truffles

   Uncover the cocotte and nestle the whole truffles into the Madeira-scented Mirepoix (No. 228) and braising liquor around the poularde. Cover again and braise for 15 to 25 minutes, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches at least 165°F (74°C) without touching bone and the joint yields when moved. Lift the truffles to a warm plate, then transfer the poularde to a warmed platter and tent it loosely for 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Grill the mushrooms

   While the poularde finishes, heat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) from the element. Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter and brush it over the mushroom caps. Set them hollow-side down on a small tray and broil until bronzed at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes; turn and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with a pinch of the remaining salt. Spoon a generous mound of warm artichoke purée into each cap and hold them in the switched-off oven with the door slightly open. The broiler is your salamander here, fierce top heat without another piece of equipment.

7. 7

   Reduce the sauce

   Strain the braising liquor into a clean saucepan, pressing the Mirepoix lightly before discarding it, then skim away excess surface fat. Add the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) Madeira and boil steadily until about 1½ cups (360 ml) remain and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Taste before adding the remaining salt. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) cold butter, one piece at a time, until the sauce gleams. If it is thin, reduce it further before adding the butter; if it tightens too far, loosen it with reserved stock. If it turns greasy, whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold stock away from the heat. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Warm the cockscombs

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a small pan over low heat. Add the prepared cockscombs and turn them gently for 5 to 7 minutes, just until hot and glossy. Do not fry them; they should remain tender and gelatinous. Warm a small silver shell if you own one, or a ¾-cup (180 ml) porcelain ramekin, and stack the cockscombs into a modest pyramid. The ramekin changes the serving vessel, not the garnish.

9. 9

   Dress the platter

   Spoon enough sauce over the poularde to lacquer its breast and legs, then pool the remainder around it without drowning the garnishes. Alternate the whole truffles with the artichoke-filled mushroom caps around the bird. Set the warm shell or ramekin of buttered cockscombs directly in front, bring the platter whole to the table, and carve there. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but tonight it may certainly look magnificent. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a plump young hen with enough fat to remain tender through braising. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a good 4-pound (1.8 kg) roasting hen with an even layer of fat beneath the skin. Technique first, always.
• •Use fresh black truffles when their season and your purse agree. Whole preserved truffles are the classical pantry's honest alternative, and their liquid belongs in the braise. Truffle oil cannot provide the texture, perfume, or presentation this garnish requires.
• •Order cockscombs already cleaned, blanched, and fully cooked from a poultry butcher or specialist supplier. The original kitchen treated that preparation as standing larder work; asking one home cook to begin with raw combs would add hours without improving the finished plate.
• •Keep unsalted stock in reserve. A short braise can always be loosened, but excess liquid costs concentration and forces the cooked poularde to wait while its sauce catches up.
• •Pour a mature dry white Burgundy or a restrained red Bordeaux. The wine should have breadth for the truffle and Madeira without flattening the delicate poultry.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Mirepoix (No. 228) up to two days ahead and keep it covered in the cold. Bring it near room temperature while the poularde is being prepared.
• •The artichoke purée can be made one day ahead. Reheat it slowly with a spoonful of cream, stirring until it again holds a soft mound.
• •Drain the truffles and prepared cockscombs earlier in the day, reserving the truffle liquid. Keep both covered in the cold, then bring them out when the poularde enters the oven.
• •The poularde is best braised and assembled close to serving. You may finish it up to 30 minutes ahead, but hold the bird loosely covered and keep the sauce warm without boiling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)