Poularde Reine Margot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •6- to 8-quart snug stockpot
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine and poultry skewers
• •Two teaspoons for shaping quenelles
• •Muslin square or clean cheesecloth sling

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the colored butters

   Stir the pistachio paste with the softened teaspoon of butter until you have a smooth beurre de pistache, then chill it until firm but still pliable. For the beurre d’écrevisse, crayfish-shell butter, melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter over low heat, add the crushed shells, and cook gently for 10 minutes, pressing them against the pan without letting the butter brown. Strain through a fine sieve and press firmly to extract the coral-colored butter. Measure 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g), cool it until softly set, and freeze any remainder for another sauce.

2. 2

   Build the cold mousseline

   Chill the processor bowl and blade for 15 minutes. Process the diced chicken with 1¼ teaspoons (6.25 ml / 7.5 g) of the salt, ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) of the white pepper, and the nutmeg until the meat becomes smooth and tacky. Add the egg white and process briefly. With the machine pulsing, add the cold cream in four additions, stopping as soon as each disappears. Press the mousseline through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice. Poach a teaspoonful in barely trembling stock and taste it for seasoning. If the paste turns glossy, greasy, or loose in the processor, stop immediately. Ça se rattrape: chill it over ice for 10 minutes, then work in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of very cold cream taken from the sauce allowance.

3. 3

   Divide and stuff

   Weigh out exactly 10⅔ ounces (302 g) of chicken mousseline and fold in the ¼ cup (60 ml / 57 g) of almond purée. This preserves the source ratio, and the ratio matters more than making the number look tidy. Spoon the almond mousseline into the poularde without compressing it, close the cavity with skewers, and truss the legs securely. Divide the remaining plain mousseline equally between two chilled bowls, cover both directly on the surface, and keep them over ice.

4. 4

   Begin the gentle poach

   Set the stuffed poularde breast-side up in a snug stockpot, using a square of muslin as a lifting sling if you have one. Add the chicken stock and enough cold water to cover the bird by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring the liquid slowly to 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), then hold it there for 75 to 90 minutes. The surface should quiver, never boil. If bubbles begin breaking hard around the bird, pull the pot from the heat, add a small splash of cold water, and lower the burner before returning it. Ça se rattrape. A hard boil tears the skin, toughens the mousseline, and clouds the stock.

5. 5

   Flavor the quenelles

   While the poularde poaches, fold the chilled beurre de pistache into one bowl of mousseline and 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of softly set beurre d’écrevisse into the other. Mix only until the colors are even, keeping both bowls nested over ice. The brigade made separate mousseline batches for these garnishes; dividing one neutral batch gives the same two preparations without asking one cook to repeat the entire emulsion.

6. 6

   Check and hold

   Insert an instant-read thermometer through the cavity opening into the center of the almond stuffing without touching bone. It must reach 165°F (74°C), and the thickest part of the thigh should reach at least 170°F (77°C). Lift the poularde carefully, let the cavity drain, and place it on a rack over a shallow pan. Cover loosely and hold it in a 170°F (75°C) oven for no longer than 35 minutes. Skim the poaching liquor, strain it, and measure 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) into a saucepan for the sauce.

7. 7

   Poach the quenelles

   Return the remaining poaching liquor to 175 to 180°F (79 to 82°C). Using two teaspoons dipped in hot water, shape six small ovals from each colored mousseline and lower them into the liquid in batches. Poach for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until lightly springy and cooked to 165°F (74°C) at the center. Lift them onto a warm plate and cover. If the first quenelle frays at the edges, the liquid is too hot or the paste has warmed. Lower the heat and chill the mixtures for 10 minutes before continuing; the next one will hold.

8. 8

   Make the sauce suprême

   Bring the reserved 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) of poaching liquor to a full boil for 3 minutes, then keep it hot. Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the sauce butter in a clean saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this roux gently for 2 minutes without coloring it. Whisk in the hot liquor a little at a time, making each addition smooth before the next. Simmer for 10 minutes, add the heavy cream, and reduce gently until the sauce naps the back of a spoon. Add the almond milk and simmer just long enough to restore that light coating consistency. Strain, season with the remaining salt and white pepper as needed, then whisk in the final tablespoon of cold butter off the heat. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with poaching liquor; if thin, simmer it longer. If it looks oily, whisk in a tablespoon of cold almond milk. Ça se rattrape.

9. 9

   Coat and serve

   Remove the skewers and twine, set the poularde breast-side up on a warm oval platter, and spoon enough sauce suprême over it to coat the surface in an even ivory gloss. Arrange the pistachio and crayfish quenelles alternately around the bird, green then coral, and carry the remaining sauce separately in a warm sauceboat. Carve at the table so every plate receives poultry, almond stuffing, one quenelle of each color, and a generous spoonful of sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde is a specially raised young hen with tender, well-marbled flesh. Ask a good butcher, but if none is available, choose a plump small roasting chicken and give the poaching your full attention. Technique first, always.
• •Use blanched almond purée and plain almond milk with no sugar, vanilla, or strong stabilizers. The almond should taste quietly through the chicken and cream, not announce itself like a dessert.
• •Cold equipment is not fussiness here. Mousselines are emulsions, and warm chicken fat cannot hold cream cleanly. Chill the processor, add the cream gradually, and keep every divided bowl over ice.
• •Crayfish shells give beurre d’écrevisse its coral color and unmistakable sweetness. Don't replace that work with paprika or coloring; those produce color without the flavor the source requires.
• •Serve with a full, dry white such as white Burgundy or a brut Champagne. Both have enough structure for cream, almond, pistachio, and crayfish without flattening the delicate poached chicken.
• •Chill leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat sliced poultry, stuffing, and sauce gently until the center reaches 165°F (74°C); boiling will tighten the mousseline and split the finish.

Advance Preparation

• •The beurre de pistache and beurre d’écrevisse can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let them soften only enough to fold into the cold mousseline.
• •The chicken mousseline can be processed up to 4 hours ahead and held below 40°F (4°C), covered directly on its surface. Stuff the poularde no more than 2 hours before poaching.
• •The colored quenelle mixtures can be prepared while the bird poaches and held over ice. Once cooked, the quenelles may wait for 30 minutes in a little warm poaching liquor held below a simmer.
• •For a dinner party, begin poaching about 2 hours before you intend to serve. The bird's short warm hold gives one cook enough time to poach the quenelles, finish the sauce suprême, and dress the platter without panic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)