Poularde à la Périgord

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 litre) heavy lidded cocotte, just large enough to hold the bird
• •Food processor or sturdy tamis
• •Two small trussing skewers and kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh chinois or sieve
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Narrow measuring jug or gravy separator

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the truffle stuffing

   Turn the truffles into pieces shaped like large olives, keeping every trimming. Melt the pork lard over low heat in a small pan and add the truffle olives and trimmings. Cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, rolling them through the fat until fragrant but never browned. Pulse the cold grated fatback in a food processor until it becomes a smooth paste, then work in the hot truffles and their lard. This replaces repeated rubbing through a tamis without changing the source ratio or the finished texture. Season with one-third of the salt and half the white pepper. If the fat turns loose and oily, stop and chill it for 10 minutes, then stir until smooth. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep the fatback cold until the hot truffles meet it. Cold fat forms a smooth stuffing; warm fat smears, separates, and becomes difficult to contain.
2. 2

   Fill and seal

   Season the poularde inside and out with the remaining salt and white pepper. Spoon the truffle mixture into the main cavity and beneath the neck flap without packing it hard. Fold the neck skin underneath and secure it with a small skewer. Draw the cavity edges together with a second skewer, lace kitchen twine around it in a figure eight, then truss the legs tightly against the body. Inspect the bird from every side. If stuffing bulges through a seam, remove a spoonful and close the seam again; a slightly underfilled bird keeps its treasure better than an overfilled one. Wipe the skin completely clean before cooking.

3. 3

   Poêle the poularde

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Set the sealed poularde breast-side up into the prepared Poëlings (No. 250) and follow that method through its covered cooking stage, basting the bird generously with its butter every 15 minutes. Add no wine, stock, or water while the bird cooks under cover. That absence of added liquid is what keeps poêling distinct from braising and concentrates the truffle inside the bird. After 55 minutes, uncover the cocotte and continue cooking for 25 to 35 minutes, basting twice, until the skin is evenly burnished, the centre of the stuffing and thickest breast register 165°F (74°C), and the thigh reaches about 175°F (79°C). If the breast colors too quickly, shield only that area with buttered parchment and let the legs continue.

4. 4

   Rest without opening

   Lift the poularde onto a warm platter and cover it loosely with parchment followed by foil. Rest for 20 minutes without removing the skewers or cutting the twine; opening it early lets the truffled juices run before the flesh can reclaim them. If a seam has wept a little filling into the cocotte, spoon that mixture back among the cooking aromatics before finishing the liquor. The seal may have failed, but the perfume is still yours.

5. 5

   Build the truffled sauce

   Finish the cooking liquor exactly as Poëlings (No. 250) directs, including its extraction, straining, and careful removal of excess fat. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the strained liquor, then reduce the remainder in a small saucepan at a lively simmer until it becomes a fine, glossy demi-glace that coats the back of a spoon. Strain it once more, remove it from the heat, and stir in the truffle essence. If the sauce looks greasy, transfer it to a narrow jug, wait 2 minutes, spoon away the fat, and return it to the pan. If it has reduced too far, loosen it spoonful by spoonful with the reserved liquor. It should flow slowly, never sit like paste.

6. 6

   Coat, carve, serve

   Remove the skewers and twine, then spoon enough sauce over the whole poularde to give it a deep gloss. Carry it to the table before carving. Cut away the legs, slice the breast, and open the cavity so every serving receives tender meat, one or two olive-shaped truffles, and a generous spoonful of the pork-fat stuffing. Pass the remaining truffled sauce separately. Never apologize at your own table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This dish truly needs black truffle. When fresh Tuber melanosporum is out of season, whole preserved black truffles packed in their natural juice are the classical pantry's honest answer; reserve that juice for the sauce. Truffle oil cannot replace either one.
• •A true poularde is a plump, carefully fattened young hen. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose the roundest air-chilled roasting hen you can comfortably buy. Technique first, always: dry skin, gentle heat, and a tight seal matter more than the label.
• •The source ratio remains exact at this scale: four parts truffle, one part melted pork fat, and eight parts fresh fatback by weight. Do not replace the fresh fatback with smoked bacon or salt pork; their salt and smoke would drown the truffle.
• •Serve with a restrained accompaniment such as pommes purée or buttered fresh noodles, something willing to receive the sauce without competing with it. A mature red Bergerac has enough earth and freshness for the truffle without bullying the poultry.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Keep the meat, stuffing, and sauce together in a covered container for up to 3 days, then reheat gently with a spoonful of stock so the sauce does not tighten.

Advance Preparation

• •The truffle and fatback stuffing can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead, covered tightly, and refrigerated. Let it soften for about 10 minutes before filling the bird, only until it is pliable.
• •The poularde may be stuffed, sealed, and trussed up to 4 hours before cooking. Keep it refrigerated and bring it out 30 minutes before it enters the oven.
• •The Poëlings (No. 250) can be scaled and its mise en place prepared one day ahead. The final liquor and truffled demi-glace must wait until the poularde has cooked, because the bird's own savour is the foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)