Poularde Soufflée

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) snug stockpot
• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Sturdy poultry shears and narrow boning knife
• •2-quart (1.9 L) oval gratin dish
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •2-quart (1.9 L) heavy saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the poularde

   Tie the legs together, tuck the wings beneath the bird, and season the cavity lightly. Bring the chicken stock to a bare simmer in a snug pot, lower in the poularde breast-up, and keep the liquid between 175°F and 185°F (80°C and 85°C). It should tremble, never boil. Skim as needed and poach for 40 to 50 minutes, until the coolest part of the breast and inner thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). Lift the bird carefully onto a rimmed tray and let it cool until it can be handled. Reserve 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) of the poaching stock for the sauce.

   If the stock does not cover the bird, move everything to a narrower pot instead of diluting it with a great quantity of water. The poaching liquid becomes the foundation of the Allemande sauce.
2. 2

   Make the mousseline

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade, then place the diced raw chicken in the freezer for 15 minutes. Process the chicken with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and half the white pepper until it forms a sticky paste. Add the chilled egg white and process until smooth, then add the icy cream in three additions, stopping to scrape the bowl. The mixture should remain glossy and distinctly cold. If it starts looking grainy or greasy, stop before adding more cream. Ça se rattrape: chill the bowl over ice for 10 minutes, then fold in the remaining cream by hand. Press the mousseline through a fine sieve, fold in the sieved foie gras, and keep the bowl over ice. Poach a teaspoonful in the reserved stock until cooked through, taste it, and correct the seasoning before proceeding.

   The finished chicken mousseline weighs about 9 oz (255 g), paired with 2⅔ oz (75 g) foie gras. These are half the source quantities, with the original proportion preserved.
3. 3

   Lift the suprêmes

   Lay the cooled poularde breast-up. Lift away the breast skin so the finished mousseline can be smoothed and decorated, then use a narrow knife to raise the two suprêmes, the breast fillets, cleanly from the keel and ribs. With sturdy poultry shears, remove the keel and breast bones in sections while leaving the backbone, legs, and wings intact. Slice the suprêmes across the grain into pieces about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Butter a 2-quart (1.9 L) oval gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter, settle the bird into it, and chill the opened bird and sliced breast for 15 minutes so no lingering warmth softens the mousseline.

4. 4

   Reconstruct the bird

   Reserve several neat truffle slices for decoration. Spread one-third of the foie-gras mousseline across the empty breast cavity. Arrange alternating slices of suprême and truffle over it, keeping the pieces just apart so the mousseline can bind them. Add another layer of mousseline, then repeat the alternating suprême and truffle layer. Cover with the remaining mousseline and shape it into the full, rounded breast of the original bird. Smooth the surface with a small spatula dipped in cold water. Press firmly enough to eliminate air pockets, but do not compact the mousseline.

5. 5

   Set the decoration

   Arrange the reserved truffle, salted tongue, and hard-cooked egg-white diamonds over the smooth breast in a restrained pattern, pressing each piece just into the surface so it holds. Refrigerate the assembled Poularde soufflée for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 300°F (150°C). This final chilling is part of the technique, not idle waiting; the mousseline must enter the oven cold.

6. 6

   Poach over water

   Set the oval dish inside a deep roasting pan and pour boiling water around it to reach halfway up the dish. Cover the roasting pan with a loose foil dome, crimping the edges without letting the foil touch the decoration. Poach in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, replenishing the bain-marie with boiling water if needed, until the centre of the mousseline reaches 165°F (74°C). Steam sets it; dry oven heat cracks it open. If a fissure appears before the centre is cooked, lower the oven to 275°F (135°C), add more boiling water, and lay buttered parchment lightly over the exposed surface. Ça se rattrape: the crack will stop widening, and the Allemande will cover the fine line.

   A violently boiling bain-marie is still too hot. The surrounding water should quiver gently, giving the mousseline time to set from the outside toward the centre.
7. 7

   Finish Allemande sauce

   While the bird cooks, boil the reserved 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) poaching stock until reduced to 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g). Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes without colouring it. Whisk in the reduced stock gradually and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the velouté reaches nappe, coating the back of a spoon. If it remains thin, reduce it now; once the yolks enter, it must not boil. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cream, then whisk the rest with the egg yolks. Temper this liaison, the yolk-and-cream thickening, with several spoonfuls of hot velouté before whisking it back into the saucepan. Cook over the gentlest heat until the Allemande thickens slightly, then remove it from the heat and add the lemon juice and reserved truffle liquid. If the sauce shows grains, strain it immediately. If it separates, whisk the reserved cold cream in a clean bowl and add the sauce back a spoonful at a time. Keep the finished Allemande warm over barely warm water.

8. 8

   Coat and carve

   Lift the gratin dish from the bain-marie and rest the Poularde soufflée for 10 minutes. Spoon a thin, even coat of truffle-scented Allemande sauce over the reconstructed breast, allowing the decoration to remain legible, and pool a little sauce around the bird. Serve it whole before cutting. Carve the raised breast crosswise into four thick slices so every portion shows mousseline, suprême, foie gras, and truffle; portion the leg and wing meat alongside and pass the remaining Allemande separately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a small poularde or plump young chicken under 4 lb (1.8 kg). A larger roasting bird overwhelms the scaled filling and takes too long to heat through without tightening the mousseline.
• •Use plain bloc de foie gras, not a strongly seasoned pâté. The foie gras should enrich the chicken mousseline without turning it into a separate liver filling.
• •Preserved whole black truffle is the honest classical pantry answer when fresh truffle is unavailable. Its preserving liquid supplies the truffle essence called for in the sauce; artificial truffle oil brings a blunt perfume the dish does not need.
• •Hold the Allemande below a simmer after adding the liaison. If it becomes too thick while waiting, loosen it with a spoonful of warm poaching stock.
• •Serve with one quiet vegetable, buttered asparagus or fine haricots verts, and a dry white Burgundy or firm Champagne. The Poularde soufflée has already done the ceremonial work.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use them within 2 days. Reheat individual slices covered, over a shallow bain-marie, so the mousseline warms without drying.

Advance Preparation

• •The poularde may be fully poached, opened, and boned one day ahead. Cool it promptly, cover the bird and sliced suprêmes separately, and refrigerate until cold.
• •The chicken mousseline can be made and the bird assembled up to 4 hours before its final poach. Keep it covered and thoroughly chilled; add about 5 minutes to the oven time if it goes in directly from the refrigerator.
• •The pale roux and reduced-stock velouté base for the Allemande sauce may be prepared one day ahead. Reheat it gently, then add the cream-and-yolk liaison, lemon, and truffle liquid shortly before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)