Poulet Sauté aux Cèpes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy sauté pan with a lid
• •10- to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) wide skillet for the cèpes
• •Tongs
• •Wooden spoon
• •Small whisk
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the mise en place

   Pat every chicken piece completely dry, including the folds around the joints. Season with 2 teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper, then leave the pieces uncovered while you prepare the rest. Clean the cèpes with a soft brush or barely damp cloth, never by soaking. Separate the caps from the firm stalks, slice the caps about ½ inch thick, and finely chop the stalks. Wrap the chopped stalks in a clean towel and press gently to remove excess moisture. Keep the three sauce shallots separate from the small shallot and garlic for the cèpes. Measure the wine, chop the parsley, and leave the butter cold.

2. 2

   Sauté the chicken

   Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat until it moves freely and begins to shimmer. Lay in the chicken skin-side down without crowding, working in two batches if necessary. Brown the skin for 5 to 7 minutes, leaving each piece alone until it releases readily, then turn and brown the second side for about 3 minutes. A piece that clings is usually asking for another minute. Transfer each browned batch to a tray.

3. 3

   Finish chicken gently

   Lower the heat to medium-low and return the thighs, drumsticks, and wings to the pan. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, then add the browned breast pieces, cover again, and cook for another 8 to 12 minutes, turning the pieces once. Remove each piece as it finishes: breast meat must reach 165°F (74°C), while thighs and drumsticks are best near 175°F (79°C). If the skin is darkening before the centre is ready, lower the heat and keep the lid on. Transfer the cooked chicken to a warmed oval platter, skin-side up, and tent it loosely so the crust does not soften.

4. 4

   Sauté cèpes à la Bordelaise

   Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a second wide skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange the cèpe caps in one layer and cook without moving them for about 3 minutes, then turn and brown the other side. Transfer the caps to a plate. Add the chopped stalks to the same skillet and cook until their released moisture has evaporated and their edges begin to colour. Add the small shallot and garlic, cook for 30 seconds without scorching, then return the caps and toss with half the parsley, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. If liquid collects in the pan, spread the cèpes out and raise the heat until it cooks away before adding the aromatics. Moist mushrooms can still brown once the water is gone.

5. 5

   Reduce shallot and wine

   Pour the cooking oil from the chicken pan into a heatproof bowl, leaving the brown fond attached to the pan. Set the pan over medium heat, add the three chopped shallots, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Pour in the white wine and scrape the pan thoroughly with a wooden spoon, releasing every savoury brown deposit. Add any juices collected beneath the resting chicken. Boil steadily until the wine has reduced to about 3 tablespoons and looks lightly syrupy, 4 to 6 minutes. If the fond is black rather than brown, wipe out the burnt specks before adding the shallots; bitterness cannot be reduced into virtue.

6. 6

   Montez au beurre

   Remove the pan from the heat and let the fierce bubbling subside. Add the cold butter one cube at a time, whisking or swirling until each piece disappears before adding the next. The sauce should become pale gold, glossy, and just thick enough to coat a spoon. Keep it below a simmer once the butter enters. If it separates into greasy streaks, stop adding butter and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water off the heat; when the sauce smooths, continue cube by cube. Ça se rattrape. Taste and adjust the seasoning only after the emulsion is complete.

7. 7

   Dress the platter

   Spoon the shallot and white wine sauce over the chicken, leaving some bronzed skin visible. Arrange the cèpes à la Bordelaise generously around the bird rather than burying them beneath the sauce, then scatter the remaining parsley over the chicken. Serve immediately while the butter emulsion still gleams. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh cèpes should feel firm and smell pleasantly of woodland and hazelnut, with no sourness or wet sponge beneath the caps. Very large specimens often hide insect damage, so inspect the stalks before buying.
• •This dish truly wants fresh cèpes. Outside their season, frozen porcini can stand in if they are thawed and pressed very dry, though their texture will be softer. Soaked dried porcini bring fine flavour to a sauce, but they cannot become the browned garnish the source requires.
• •Use oil for the chicken because the source means it. Butter would burn during the firm sauté, then cloud the clean shallot and wine reduction. The butter belongs at the end, cold and plentiful, where it builds the sauce rather than scorching beneath the bird.
• •Choose a dry, unoaked white wine with enough acidity to survive reduction. A white Bordeaux based on Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon suits both the sauce and the table; sweetness or heavy oak becomes clumsy when concentrated.
• •Ask the butcher to divide the chicken into eight neat pieces, splitting each breast crosswise if the bird is large. Evenly sized pieces brown and cook more predictably, which matters more than buying an extravagant bird.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can be cut, dried, and salted up to 8 hours ahead. Refrigerate it uncovered on a rack so the skin dries further, then add the pepper shortly before cooking.
• •Clean and cut the cèpes no more than 2 hours ahead. Keep them cold beneath a dry cloth rather than sealed in plastic, which traps the moisture you worked to remove.
• •The shallots, garlic, and parsley may be chopped up to 4 hours ahead and kept separately covered in the refrigerator. Measure the wine and cube the butter before guests arrive, but keep the butter cold.
• •Do not make the finished sauce ahead. A monté au beurre is at its best straight from the pan, and the reduction itself takes only a few attentive minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)