Poularde Derby

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy lidded cocotte just large enough for the bird
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small nonreactive saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Fat separator or shallow ladle
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Warm oval serving platter
• •Small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Stuff the poularde

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Pat the poularde dry inside and out, then season it with the salt and white pepper. Spoon the three-parts cooked Pilaff Rice (No. 2256) loosely into the cavity, leaving room for the grains to finish swelling; packing it firmly gives you dense rice and unevenly cooked poultry. Truss the legs and tuck the wing tips underneath. If a little rice will not fit without pressure, put it in a covered buttered ramekin and cook it beside the bird rather than forcing it into the cavity.

   Prepare and cool the Pilaff Rice promptly if it is made ahead, then stuff the bird immediately before cooking. A filled raw bird should never wait about the kitchen.
2. 2

   Poële the bird

   Set the stuffed poularde into the home-scale Poëlings (No. 250) and cook it according to that preparation in a heavy, close-fitting cocotte. Do not add stock, wine, or water while the bird cooks; poëling surrounds it with butter and aromatic vegetables, while added liquid would turn the method into a braise. In a covered cocotte, two thorough bastes are enough to keep the surface buttered. After about 1 hour, uncover and continue cooking until the skin is burnished and an instant-read thermometer reaches 165°F (74°C) both in the thickest part of the thigh and at the center of the rice, usually another 30 to 45 minutes. If the temperatures are reached before the skin colors, lift out the bird, raise the oven to 450°F (230°C), and return it uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes rather than drying the meat with a long roast.

3. 3

   Cook the truffles

   While the poularde cooks, place the whole truffles in the smallest nonreactive saucepan that will hold them snugly. Pour over the Champagne, cover, and bring it only to a bare simmer. Cook gently for 12 to 15 minutes, turning the truffles once, then lift them out and keep them covered. Reserve every drop of their cooking liquor; it carries too much perfume to lose.

4. 4

   Fry the croûtons

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pain de mie ovals and fry until evenly deep gold and crisp on both faces, adjusting the heat if the butter darkens too quickly. These are croûtons, small pieces of bread fried in butter, not dry toast. Drain them on a rack so their undersides remain crisp, then hold them at room temperature.

5. 5

   Extract the liquor

   Transfer the cooked poularde to a warm platter, cover it loosely, and let it rest for 20 minutes. Pour the brown veal gravy into the poëling vessel while its aromatic vegetables and butter are still present. Scrape the browned film from the bottom and simmer gently for 10 minutes so the gravy recovers the flavor held in the butter. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, pressing lightly on the vegetables, then let the liquid settle and remove every visible trace of fat with a spoon or fat separator.

6. 6

   Reduce and thicken

   Add the reserved truffle cooking liquor to the cleared poultry liquor and veal gravy. Bring the mixture to a lively boil and reduce it to exactly 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (95 ml), measuring it in a heatproof jug as you approach the mark. This reduction is the step that decides the dish: arrowroot can polish concentrated liquor, but it cannot give strength to a watery one. Mix 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 3 g) arrowroot with 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) of the cold water, return the reduced liquor to a gentle simmer, and whisk in the slurry a little at a time until the sauce lightly coats a spoon. Do not boil it hard after thickening. If it stays thin, mix the remaining arrowroot with the remaining cold water and add it by drops; if it tightens too far, loosen it with a teaspoon of Champagne. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Toss the foie gras

   Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter in a clean skillet over medium-high heat until its foam subsides. Season the foie gras collops lightly, lay them in the pan, and toss them in the butter for 30 to 45 seconds per side, just until browned outside and supple within. Move quickly, because foie gras left over timid heat melts instead of coloring. If the first collop begins to slump, stop, chill the remaining pieces for 10 minutes, wipe the pan, and make it properly hot before continuing. Set each cooked collop directly on a fried croûton.

8. 8

   Build the Derby garnish

   Remove the trussing from the poularde and set the whole bird on a warm oval platter. Arrange the four foie gras croûtons around it, alternating each with a whole Champagne-cooked truffle. Taste the sauce for seasoning, warm it only until glossy, and serve it separately in a small sauceboat so each carved portion receives a spoonful. Poularde, rice, foie gras, truffle, and reduced liquor belong in the same mouthful. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a specially fattened young hen with unusually tender, well-marbled flesh. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a plump air-chilled young chicken of the same weight. The result will be a little leaner, so watch the thermometer with care; technique first, always.
• •Fresh black truffles give the whole garnish its shape and perfume. Out of season, use good whole preserved truffles, drain them, and warm them in the Champagne for only 5 minutes. Do not replace them with truffle oil, which cannot behave like a whole truffle or give the sauce its proper cooking liquor.
• •For the veal gravy, a good prepared veal jus or veal demi-glace diluted to flowing gravy consistency is the honest home equivalent to the stockpot that never went cold. Measure 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (95 ml) after dilution, because that proportion belongs to the dish.
• •Arrowroot should provide a clear, light nappe, meaning a coating that clings softly to the spoon. It is not there to make pudding. Reduce first, add it sparingly, and keep the finished sauce away from a prolonged boil.
• •Serve the same brut Champagne used for the truffles. The wine's acidity meets the foie gras cleanly, and opening a second argument at this table would be unnecessary.

Advance Preparation

• •The Pilaff Rice (No. 2256) may be prepared to the required three-quarter stage one day ahead. Spread it in a shallow container, chill it promptly, and keep it covered in the cold; stuff the poularde only when you are ready to cook.
• •The croûtons can be fried up to 3 hours ahead and held uncovered on a rack. If they soften, crisp them for 4 minutes in a 350°F (175°C) oven before the foie gras is cooked.
• •The truffles may be cooked in Champagne earlier the same day. Keep the truffles and their liquor separately covered in the cold, then bring both back toward room temperature before the sauce is assembled.
• •Do not finish the sauce or cook the foie gras ahead. The sauce depends on the poularde's fresh cooking liquor, and foie gras is at its best during the few minutes between pan and table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)