Poulet Sauté Fedora

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch heavy sauté pan with lid
• •Small saucepan for the asparagus
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine whisk
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Arrange the mise en place

   Pat the chicken completely dry and season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Slice the raw truffle only now, so its aroma stays in the pan rather than on the cutting board. Measure the cream and Béchamel sauce into separate vessels, cut the cold beurre d'écrevisse into small pieces, and return it to the refrigerator. This mise en place, everything prepared before cooking, matters because the sauce moves quickly once the chicken leaves the pan.

   The Béchamel sauce should have a flowing, medium-bodied consistency. A stiff refrigerated Béchamel will reduce into paste, so loosen it beforehand with a teaspoon of the measured cream if necessary.
2. 2

   Parboil the asparagus

   Bring a small saucepan of water to a lively boil. Add the asparagus heads and parboil them for 45 to 90 seconds, according to thickness, until brilliantly green and barely yielding at the cut end. Drain immediately and spread them in one layer on a clean towel. They must remain firmer than you want to eat them because the finished sauce will provide their final warming.

3. 3

   Sauté without colour

   Melt the unsalted butter in a covered 12-inch sauté pan over medium-low heat. When it foams but remains pale, add the chicken in one snug layer and scatter the sliced truffle around and beneath the pieces. Cover and cook gently, turning the chicken every 3 to 4 minutes without allowing either the butter or the skin to brown. Begin checking the breast pieces after 14 minutes; transfer each piece and its clinging truffle to a platter when it reaches 165°F (74°C), then continue the legs until they reach at least 170°F (77°C), usually 20 to 25 minutes in total. If the butter shows its first tan flecks, lift the pan from the heat and add a teaspoon of cold water to stop the browning, then continue over lower heat. It will sputter. It is exactly right, and ça se rattrape.

   Warm the serving platter with hot water while the chicken finishes, then dry it thoroughly. A warm platter protects the chicken during the few minutes needed to complete the sauce.
4. 4

   Reduce cream and Béchamel

   Dish the remaining chicken and truffle on the warm platter and cover loosely. If the pan contains more than 1 tablespoon of clear chicken fat, spoon off the excess while preserving every opaque cooking juice. Swill the pan with the heavy cream, scraping up the pale, concentrated juices, then whisk in the Béchamel sauce. Bring the mixture to a controlled simmer and reduce it to half its original volume, about ⅓ cup, whisking often. It should nap the back of a spoon yet still flow freely. If it becomes pasty, loosen it with a teaspoon of cream or warm water before proceeding.

5. 5

   Mount the crayfish butter

   Take the pan completely off the fire and wait 20 seconds. Monter au beurre, mounting with butter, by whisking in the cold beurre d'écrevisse a few pieces at a time until each addition disappears and the sauce becomes glossy and coral-ivory. Add the lemon juice, cayenne, and remaining salt only after tasting. If the sauce releases orange droplets of fat, do not reheat it. Ça se rattrape: place 1 teaspoon of cold cream in a clean bowl, whisk in one spoonful of the split sauce until smooth, then incorporate the remainder gradually.

6. 6

   Add asparagus and serve

   Fold the parboiled asparagus heads into the finished sauce and turn them gently for 30 seconds, just long enough to coat and warm them. Do not return the pan to the fire. Pour the sauce and asparagus over the chicken, allowing the black truffle slices to remain visible, and serve at once while the emulsion is supple and gleaming. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The source calls for the full 4 ounces of raw truffle, and that abundance is part of Fedora rather than decoration. Périgord black truffle is the first choice; outside its season, a properly flash-frozen whole black truffle is the honest preserved option. Truffle oil cannot stand in for the fruit.
• •Beurre d'écrevisse gives the sauce its coral colour and its sweet shellfish depth. Prepare it in advance or order it from a serious specialty supplier. Lobster or shrimp-shell butter can make a fine related sauce, but the flavour will no longer be Fedora.
• •Choose a compact young chicken within the stated weight. A larger bird delays the leg meat while the breast waits on the platter, and this sauce deserves chicken that remains juicy.
• •Serve with plain buttered rice, pommes vapeur, or bread for gathering the sauce. Add no competing garnish; black truffle and asparagus have already said enough.
• •A full white Burgundy has the breadth for cream and truffle, while a dry Champagne cuts cleanly through the crayfish butter. Pour either cool, not numbingly cold.

Advance Preparation

• •The Béchamel sauce and beurre d'écrevisse can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated separately. Press parchment directly against the Béchamel surface to prevent a skin; keep the crayfish butter tightly wrapped.
• •The chicken may be jointed and the asparagus trimmed 1 day ahead. Keep them covered and refrigerated, then dry the chicken thoroughly before seasoning.
• •Do not slice the truffle or mount the finished sauce ahead. Truffle loses aroma once cut, and a reheated crayfish-butter emulsion is likely to split.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)