Poularde à la Montbazon

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •7-quart (6.5-liter) stockpot that holds the poularde snugly
• •Food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wide shallow pan for poaching the Mousselines
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Thin metal skewer and narrow chopstick
• •Two dessert spoons
• •Two small trays and a 2 lb (900 g) weight
• •Large oval serving platter and sauce boat

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the sweetbreads

   Cover the lamb sweetbreads with plenty of cold water and soak them for 1½ hours, changing the water twice. Transfer them to a saucepan, cover with fresh cold water, salt it lightly, and bring slowly to a bare simmer. Blanch for 4 minutes, then drain into ice water. Pull away the outer membrane and any coarse tubes without tearing the lobes, place them between two small trays, and weight the top with about 2 lb (900 g) for 30 minutes. Cut the pressed sweetbreads into 8 neat pieces. The discarded water may turn grey and cloudy; that is the blanch doing its work. If a trimmed lobe still leaks milky residue, blanch it again for 2 minutes in fresh water before pressing.

   Do not skip the blanch because the sweetbreads look clean. The proteins you cannot see are precisely what would escape into the final poaching liquor and muddy the Sauce Suprême.
2. 2

   Stud and truss

   Pat the poularde dry. Use a thin metal skewer to make 16 shallow channels at an angle through the fleshiest parts of the breasts and thighs, then push a truffle baton into each channel with the narrow end of a chopstick. Tuck any truffle fragments beneath the breast skin. Season the cavity and exterior with about 2 teaspoons of the salt, fold the wing tips underneath, and truss the legs against the body. The skewer and chopstick replace the larding needle cleanly; no special instrument is needed.

3. 3

   Poach at a tremble

   Set the poularde breast-up in a snug stockpot and add enough cold chicken stock to cover it, reserving at least 1 cup for adjustments. Bring the liquid up slowly over medium heat, skimming the surface as needed. Once it reaches 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), lower the heat and partially cover the pot. Poach at the faintest tremble for 55 to 70 minutes, until both the thickest breast and the innermost thigh register 165°F (74°C). Never let the stock boil. If it does, lower the heat immediately and add some reserved cold stock; the flesh will relax, and fine straining will save the broth.

4. 4

   Make the Mousselines

   While the poularde poaches, process the very cold chicken breast with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon white pepper until the meat becomes smooth and tacky. Add the cold egg white and process only until absorbed. Force the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice, then work in the ¾ cup cold cream in three additions. Keep the mixture cold throughout. Poach a teaspoonful in barely simmering water and taste it. If the test spreads or feathers at the edges, set the bowl over ice for 10 minutes and test again; warmth, not a missing binder, is usually the culprit. If the forcemeat looks grainy, chill it thoroughly and process it for a few seconds until it comes back together.

5. 5

   Poach the Mousselines

   Bring a wide pan of salted water to 180°F (82°C). With two wet dessert spoons, shape the chicken forcemeat into 8 smooth oval Mousselines, each made from about 2 generous tablespoons. Lower them into the water as they are shaped and poach without boiling for 7 to 9 minutes, turning once, until springy and cooked to 165°F (74°C) at the centre. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and hold them covered on a warm plate.

6. 6

   Poach the garnish

   When the poularde is cooked, lift it carefully from the stock, drain the cavity, and cover it loosely while it rests. Strain the poaching stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Put 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) of the strained stock into a clean saucepan and bring it to a bare tremble. Poach the grooved mushroom caps for 4 to 5 minutes, then lift them out. Add the pressed sweetbread pieces and poach for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender and 160°F (71°C) at the centre. Keep the mushrooms, sweetbreads, and Mousselines covered with a few spoonfuls of warm strained stock while the sauce is finished.

7. 7

   Build Sauce Suprême

   Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) of the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook this roux for 3 minutes without allowing it to colour. Gradually whisk in 4 cups (950 ml / 950 g) of the warm strained poultry stock, adding each portion only after the last is smooth. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, skimming if needed, then add all but 1 tablespoon of the sauce cream. Reduce for 12 to 18 minutes, until the Sauce Suprême coats the back of a spoon in an even ivory layer. Strain it, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) cold butter a little at a time. Season with salt and the remaining white pepper. If the sauce is lumpy, simmer while whisking and strain it; if it is too thick, loosen it with stock. If it separates after the butter goes in, put the reserved tablespoon of cold cream in a clean pan and whisk in the broken sauce gradually. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Dish and coat

   Warm a large oval platter with hot water, then dry it thoroughly. Remove the trussing string, set the whole poularde in the centre, and coat it evenly with about 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) of Sauce Suprême. Drain the garnishes well and arrange them around the bird in the book's alternating order: one lamb sweetbread piece, one Mousseline, one grooved mushroom cap, then repeat. Pour the remaining Sauce Suprême into a warmed sauce boat and serve it separately as the entry directs. Present the bird whole, then carve it at the table so each serving receives truffle-studded poultry and all three garnishes. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A poularde is a plump, specially fattened young hen. If your butcher cannot obtain one, choose a broad-breasted young chicken close to 4 lb (1.8 kg); careful poaching matters more than the label. A much larger capon changes the timing and overwhelms this four-person garnish.
• •Order lamb sweetbreads specifically. Calf sweetbreads are larger and firmer, and although fine in their own preparations, they change the proportions the source gives this delicate poultry dish.
• •Fresh black truffle has the finest perfume, but whole preserved black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer outside the season. Drain them well and use the truffle itself. Scented oil cannot stud a bird and does not replace it.
• •The Sauce Suprême must be pale, smooth, and rich enough to cling without becoming paste. Cook the roux without colour, reduce before adding the finishing butter, and keep it below a boil afterward. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Serve a dry, full-bodied white with enough structure for truffle and sweetbreads. A white Burgundy is splendid, while a dry Vouvray gives a quiet nod to Touraine without pretending the dish is a regional one.

Advance Preparation

• •The sweetbreads may be soaked, blanched, trimmed, and pressed up to 24 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate them, then cut and complete their poaching shortly before service.
• •The chicken mousseline forcemeat may be made up to 4 hours ahead and held tightly covered over ice in the refrigerator. The shaped Mousselines may be poached up to 2 hours ahead and rewarmed gently in strained stock.
• •The poularde may be truffle-studded and trussed up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it covered and refrigerated, then take it out 20 minutes before beginning the cold-stock poach.
• •The white roux for Sauce Suprême may be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated. Build the velouté with fresh poaching stock, then add the cream and finishing butter close to service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 720g)