Poularde à la Paysanne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 litre) heavy oval cocotte with lid
• •Small saucepan for warming stock
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Sturdy tongs and large basting spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare bird and vegetables

   Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C with a rack in the lower-middle position. Remove any giblets, tuck the wing tips beneath the poularde, and dry the skin and cavity thoroughly. Season inside and out with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper. Mince the carrot, onion, and celery evenly, keeping distinct pieces rather than making a wet paste, and warm the veal stock in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling.

2. 2

   Brown in butter

   Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the cocotte over medium heat. When the foam subsides, lay in the poularde and brown it patiently, turning it from breast to each side and then onto its back, until every broad surface is a deep butter-gold, about 12 to 15 minutes. Keep the heat moderate so the butter solids turn hazelnut-colored, not black. If the butter blackens, lift out the bird, wipe away the burnt fat, lower the heat, and continue with the reserved butter. Ça se rattrape. Transfer the browned poularde to a plate.

   Use sturdy tongs and a wooden spoon together when turning the whole bird. Piercing the breast with a fork loses the juices the vegetables need.
3. 3

   Build the cocotte

   Return the poularde to the cocotte breast-side up. Arrange the minced carrot, onion, and celery closely around it, leaving the browned skin uncovered, and season the vegetables with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. If the reserved tablespoon of butter was not needed during browning, dot it over the vegetables. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the warm veal stock down the side of the cocotte, taking care not to wash the color from the breast, then cover with the lid.

4. 4

   Roast and baste

   Roast covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and spoon the buttery juices over the poularde and vegetables, adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of warm stock only when the bottom of the cocotte is nearly dry. Cover again and repeat every 12 to 15 minutes. After about 45 minutes of oven cooking, leave the lid off so the skin regains its burnish, then continue until a thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh, clear of bone, reaches at least 165°F / 74°C and the thigh joint moves freely, usually 55 to 70 minutes in all. If the vegetables begin catching before the bird is ready, stir only the darkening outer edge, add 2 tablespoons of stock, and cover for the next interval. If the cocotte looks soupy, stop adding stock and finish uncovered.

   Basting means moistening, not filling. Small additions dissolve the fond and glaze the mince; too much stock boils the vegetables and washes out their sweetness.
5. 5

   Finish the vegetable sauce

   Lift the poularde onto a board and rest it loosely covered for 10 to 12 minutes. Set the uncovered cocotte over medium heat and stir the vegetables through the cooking juices, scraping up every bronze trace of fond. Reduce for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mince is tender and held in a glossy, spoonable sauce. If it is dry, loosen it with warm stock one tablespoon at a time; if thin, keep reducing. Do not strain or blend it. Those vegetables are the sauce.

6. 6

   Return and serve

   Taste the vegetables and correct the seasoning. Return the whole poularde to the warm cocotte, keeping the vegetable sauce gathered generously around it, and spoon only a little over the legs so the breast remains burnished. Carve at the table or divide it in the kitchen, giving each serving plenty of the carrot, onion, celery, and glossy juices. Serve directly from the cocotte. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A poularde is a plump young hen raised for tender flesh and generous fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a compact, well-fleshed chicken of the same weight rather than a lean oversized roasting bird; the sauce will be slightly less rich, but careful browning and basting preserve the dish's intent.
• •The veal stock supplies body without flour. Look for an unsalted stock that sets softly when chilled and tastes of roasted bones rather than salt. If veal stock truly cannot be found, use gelatin-rich unsalted chicken stock and expect a lighter sauce; ordinary salty beef broth is too blunt here.
• •Keep the original vegetable proportions: roughly four parts carrot, three parts onion, and two parts celery by weight. Mince them with a knife if possible. A food processor easily turns the onion wet and pulpy, and wet vegetables have difficulty glazing.
• •A lightly oaked white Burgundy has enough breadth for the butter and veal stock without covering the vegetables. For red, pour a supple cru Beaujolais with little tannin.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Carved meat and vegetable sauce keep for up to three days; reheat them gently together with a spoonful of stock so the breast does not dry.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the poularde 8 to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate it uncovered. The seasoning penetrates more evenly and the dry skin browns readily; bring it out while the oven heats.
• •The carrot, onion, and celery can be minced up to one day ahead and refrigerated together in a tightly covered container.
• •Prepare or thaw the veal stock in advance. The finished dish is best brought straight from the cocotte to the table, so do the chopping and stock work early rather than reheating the whole bird.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)