Poularde Lady Curzon

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) oval cocotte or deep pot that fits the bird snugly
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heavy 3 quart (2.8 L) saucepan
• •Large broad skillet
• •Kitchen string or small poultry skewers

Instructions

1. 1

   Stuff and truss

   Pat the poularde dry inside and out, without rinsing it. Season the cavity lightly with salt and white pepper, then spoon in the cooled Pilaff Rice (for the Stuffing of Fowls) (No. 2256). Fill the cavity loosely, leaving room for the rice to finish swelling; tamping it down gives you a dense stuffing and slows the heat from reaching its center. Close the opening with small skewers or kitchen string, truss the legs, and season the outside.

   The rice must be cool before it enters the raw bird. Warm stuffing holds the poultry too long in an unsafe temperature range, while tightly packed stuffing cooks unevenly.
2. 2

   Poach at a tremble

   Choose a pot that leaves no more than about 1 inch (2.5 cm) around the bird. Warm the stock to just below a simmer, lower in the poularde breast-side up, and add enough hot stock to cover it. Bring the liquid back to a bare tremble, cover partly, and poach for 75 to 90 minutes. The tighter the pot, the more the liquor tastes of the bird. Do not let it boil: a rolling liquid tightens the flesh, tears the skin, and clouds the stock. If it does boil, lift the pot off the heat and add a small ladle of cold stock. Ça se rattrape. Return it over gentler heat. The poularde is ready when both the center of the stuffing and the thickest part of the thigh register at least 165°F (74°C).

3. 3

   Capture the liquor

   Lift the poularde carefully onto a rack set over a tray, keeping it breast-side up. Tent it loosely and let it rest for 20 minutes. Strain the poaching liquor through a fine sieve, skim away excess surface fat, and measure 3 cups (710 ml) into a saucepan. Boil this down to 2½ cups (590 ml). This reduction replaces the brigade's separate poultry velouté: the foundation comes from the same bird, only concentrated enough to hold a sauce.

4. 4

   Make sauce Indienne

   Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook without coloring until completely soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder for 30 seconds, just until fragrant, then add the flour and cook this roux for 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot reduced poaching liquor a little at a time, scraping into the corners, and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, return it to the pan, and add ¾ cup (180 ml / 183 g) of the cream, reserving a spoonful for rescue. Simmer until it reaches nappe, coating the back of a spoon in a smooth veil. Off the heat, whisk in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) cold butter and the lemon juice. If the sauce is lumpy, strain it again; if it is too thick, loosen it with hot poaching liquor. If the butter separates into greasy beads, take the pan off the heat and whisk in the reserved cold cream. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Cream the cèpes

   If using frozen cèpes, thaw and press them dry. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a broad skillet, add the mushrooms in one layer, and sauté over medium-high heat until their moisture has cooked away and their edges are deeply bronzed. Do this in batches if necessary; crowded cèpes stew and turn grey. Return them all to the pan, add the remaining ½ cup (120 ml / 122 g) cream, and simmer until it clings lightly to the mushrooms. Season with salt and white pepper.

6. 6

   Coat and serve

   Remove the trussing string and blot the poularde lightly so the sauce will cling. Set it on a warm oval platter and spoon over enough sauce Indienne to coat the bird in a smooth, glossy layer. Arrange the cèpes in cream around it and send the remaining sauce to the table in a warm sauceboat. Carve the poularde at the table, giving each person tender meat, a spoonful of the enriched rice, cèpes, and plenty of sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a young hen raised for especially tender, well-marbled flesh. If your butcher cannot supply one, use a plump roasting chicken of the same weight. Technique first, always; the snug poach matters more than an impressive label.
• •Test the bird against your pot before cooking. A 5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) oval cocotte is usually right. Too wide and you need a lake of stock, which gives you a weaker liquor and more reduction afterward.
• •Fresh cèpes are seasonal and expensive. Frozen cèpes are the classical pantry's honest answer and need no apology; thaw them thoroughly and drive off their water before adding cream.
• •For the source's cucumber alternative, replace the cèpes with 2 medium English cucumbers (about 1½ lb / 680 g). Peel, halve, seed, and cut them into thick batons, salt for 20 minutes, blot dry, then cook gently in butter before adding the cream. The result is paler and fresher, but remains entirely within the original dish.
• •Choose a fragrant mild curry powder, not one built chiefly for heat. Sauce Indienne should smell warmly of spice while still tasting first of poultry, butter, and cream.
• •Pour a dry Alsace Gewurztraminer or a full white Burgundy. Either has enough perfume and body for the curry, cream, foie gras, and truffle carried by the stuffing.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Pilaff Rice (for the Stuffing of Fowls) (No. 2256) through the stage specified in its own entry up to 1 day ahead. Cool it quickly, cover, and refrigerate. Do not stuff the poularde until shortly before poaching.
• •The cèpes can be cleaned and sliced earlier the same day. Keep them covered in the refrigerator and sauté them close to serving so their texture remains distinct.
• •After poaching, the sauce Indienne can be made through the cream reduction up to 2 hours ahead. Cover its surface directly, reheat over gentle heat, then whisk in the final cold butter and lemon juice just before coating the bird.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 675g)