Poularde à la Godard

Poularde à la Godard (brown-braised pullet with the Godard garnish) teaches the architecture of a grand braise: colour the bird until its skin is deep bronze, then let that fond season every spoonful of sauce. The garnish may be magnificent, but the one true thing is plain. A pale bird gives you a pale idea of this dish.

The original assumed a saucier at the next station, brown stock never off the fire, a mortar and tamis for forcemeat, and a salamander waiting to glaze the sweetbreads. At home, one rich batch of brown chicken stock, a food processor and fine sieve, and a watched broiler do the same honest work. The brigade's separate holding pans are scaffolding, so the timing below shares one skillet; the two forms of quenelle, grooved mushrooms, glazed sweetbreads, tongue, truffle, reduced braising liquor, and sauceboat are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.

Prepared cockscombs and cockerel kidneys remain in the list because Godard named them; if no specialist sells them, omit them rather than pretend chicken hearts are the same. Lamb sweetbreads are kept when you can find them, with calf sweetbread cut small as the practical retail equivalent. Before you touch the pan, dry the poularde completely and give the browning your full attention. Everything generous that follows stands on that fond.