Chef Juliette
Poulets Sautés
The master sauté for poultry: jointed chicken coloured hard in clarified butter, cooked piece by piece to tenderness, then reunited with a pan sauce made from every bronze trace of fond.
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Poulet Sauté au Fenouil
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1552, Poulet Sauté au Fenouil, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A pale, butter-soft sauté of chicken and parboiled fennel, gathered under chicken-rich Mornay and glazed to a bubbling gold, proves that managing tenderness before browning is sometimes the finer discipline.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
40 min
Active Time
1 hr cook•1 hr 40 min total
Yield4 servings
Poulet Sauté au Fenouil (chicken sautéed with fennel) teaches an unusual discipline: tenderness comes before colour. The chicken is set gently in butter, moistened with cream and cooked beside fennel that has already been parboiled. Do not let the word sauté bully you into making a dark crust. This dish wants pale, succulent meat under an ivory sauce, with fennel soft enough to cut using the side of a fork.
The original kitchen assumed a saucier ready with Mornay, béchamel enriched with cheese, chicken essence drawn from stock never off the fire, a salamander for glazing and extra hands to turn three fennel bulbs into matching cloves. At home, a saucepan and whisk make one small Mornay, reduced unsalted stock supplies the essence, and the broiler supplies the fierce top heat. The professional quantity becomes one chicken for four. The separate holding pans and last-minute brigade choreography can go; they were scaffolding. Turning and parboiling the fennel stay because they determine both the crown and the tenderness. One cook, one stove, one evening.
What reaches the table is generous and unabashed: fennel arranged around the dish, chicken nestled in its centre, and Mornay gleaming under a mottled golden glaze. Parboil the fennel until a knife nearly reaches its core before it ever meets the chicken. That is the step that decides the dish, because no broiler can rescue a raw, stringy bulb hidden beneath sauce.
Poulet sauté au fenouil belongs to the formal French grand-kitchen repertoire centered in Paris, where a sauté could remain pale, be moistened with cream and receive a second sauce before glazing. Fennel may suggest Provence, but the Mornay and concentrated chicken essence place this preparation in the national grand style rather than the olive-oil cooking of the Mediterranean coast. Its crown of carefully turned bulbs shows how a market vegetable became part garnish, part architecture and a full partner to the poultry.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole chicken
Quantity
1 (3½ to 4 lb / 1.6 to 1.8 kg)
cut into 8 bone-in pieces
small Florence fennel bulbs
Quantity
3 (about 1½ lb / 680 g total)
stalks removed, quartered through the cores and turned into garlic-clove shapes
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
divided
finely ground white pepper
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 1.5 g)
divided
unsalted butter for the sauté
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
heavy cream
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g)
divided
unsalted chicken stock
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
unsalted butter for the Mornay sauce
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 24 g)
whole milk
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 305 g)
divided
Gruyère
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 75 g)
finely grated
Parmesan
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 25 g)
finely grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole chickencut into 8 bone-in pieces | 1 (3½ to 4 lb / 1.6 to 1.8 kg) |
| small Florence fennel bulbsstalks removed, quartered through the cores and turned into garlic-clove shapes | 3 (about 1½ lb / 680 g total) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
| finely ground white pepperdivided | ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 1.5 g) |
| unsalted butter for the sauté | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| heavy creamdivided | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) |
| unsalted chicken stock | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| unsalted butter for the Mornay sauce | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| all-purpose flour | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 24 g) |
| whole milkdivided | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 305 g) |
| Gruyèrefinely grated | ¾ cup (180 ml / 75 g) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | ¼ cup (60 ml / 25 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12 to 13-inch (30 to 33 cm) lidded sauté pan
- •Small paring knife
- •Two medium saucepans
- •2½ to 3-quart broiler-safe oval gratin dish
- •Whisk and fine-mesh sieve
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Turn and parboil fennel
Bring a wide pot of water to a boil and season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Peel away any bruised outer fennel layer, then trim each quarter into a plump, tapered garlic-clove shape while preserving enough core to hold the layers together. Lower in the 12 pieces and parboil for 7 to 10 minutes. A knife should enter the outer flesh easily and meet only slight resistance near the core. If the centre still feels woody or squeaks against the knife, give it another 2 minutes. Drain carefully and let the pieces dry. This parboil is the dish, not decorative fuss: skip it and the fennel remains raw and stringy beneath the glaze.
Turn the pieces with a small paring knife, taking off only sharp corners. Save the trimmings for soup or stock; the aim is an even shape, not needless waste. - 2
Reduce the chicken essence
Pour the unsalted chicken stock into a small wide saucepan and boil steadily until reduced to ¼ cup (60 ml), about 10 to 15 minutes. It should taste deeply of chicken and lightly coat a spoon without becoming salty or sticky. This reduction is the home equivalent of the chicken essence once drawn from a stockpot that never left the fire. If it reduces too far, loosen it with a spoonful of water. Set it aside.
- 3
Sauté without colour
Pat the chicken completely dry and season it with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon white pepper. Melt the sauté butter in a wide, lidded pan over medium-low heat. When it foams but remains pale, add the thighs and drumsticks; after 3 minutes, add the breasts and wings. Turn the pieces gently for another 6 to 8 minutes, just until their surfaces lose their raw look. Sauté means cooking in a small amount of fat, but this preparation explicitly asks for no colouration. Keep the butter gold, not brown, because dark milk solids will muddy the ivory sauce.
- 4
Cook chicken and fennel
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cold cream, then pour the rest around the chicken and swirl the pan to gather its pale cooking juices. Tuck the parboiled fennel between the pieces, cover partially and hold everything at the barest simmer. Begin checking after 18 minutes, removing each chicken piece as it finishes: breasts and wings must reach 165°F (74°C), while thighs and drumsticks are best at 170 to 175°F (77 to 79°C). The fennel should yield completely to a knife while remaining intact. If the chicken finishes first, lift it to a warm platter and let the fennel continue alone. If the cream turns grainy after boiling too hard, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the reserved cold cream. Ça se rattrape.
- 5
Concentrate the cooking liquor
Transfer the tender fennel beside the chicken. Strain the cream cooking liquor and measure it; you need ¾ cup (180 ml). If there is more, return it to the pan and simmer gently until reduced. If there is less, add enough of the measured milk to reach ¾ cup. Keep this liquor warm. It carries the butter, cream and chicken juices into the final sauce instead of abandoning them in a brigade holding pan.
- 6
Make the Mornay
Heat the broiler to high with a rack 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) below it. Melt the Mornay butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook this roux, a paste of butter and flour, for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Whisk in 1 cup (240 ml) of the milk a little at a time, then add the warm cream cooking liquor and reduced chicken essence. Simmer gently for 4 to 5 minutes, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Gruyère, Parmesan and remaining white pepper. If the Mornay is too thick to flow, loosen it with the remaining milk; if it is lumpy, whisk firmly and pass it through a sieve. Never boil it after the cheese goes in, or it can become oily.
- 7
Crown and glaze
Arrange the fennel in a crown around a shallow broiler-safe gratin dish. Place the chicken pieces side by side in the centre, skin side up, preserving the source preparation's generous family-style arrangement. Coat the chicken and fennel completely with the Mornay, letting the sauce settle between the pieces. Broil for 3 to 6 minutes, rotating the dish if necessary, until the sauce bubbles around the rim and takes scattered patches of deep gold. If one area colours too quickly, move the dish down a rack rather than letting the cheese scorch. Rest for 5 minutes, then carry the gratin dish straight to the table. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Florence fennel, the round and fleshy bulb sold simply as fennel, is the tuberous fennel meant here. Feathery herb fennel has no substantial bulb and cannot take its place.
- •Choose three small, dense bulbs rather than one enormous bulb. Small fennel has finer fibres, and its quarters make a more even crown after turning and parboiling.
- •A pale sauté is not timid cooking. Keep the butter foaming gently and move the chicken as needed, but do not chase Maillard bronze; the cream, chicken essence and Mornay provide the dish's depth.
- •Use unsalted stock for the essence. Ordinary salted stock becomes harsh when reduced to one quarter of its volume, and the cheeses bring plenty of seasoning of their own.
- •Serve with plain rice pilaf or buttered pommes vapeur to catch the sauce. A dry white Burgundy or another firm, lightly oaked Chardonnay has enough acidity for the cream and enough body for the glazed cheese.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat covered at 325°F (165°C) until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C), then uncover briefly to restore the glazed surface.
Advance Preparation
- •Turn and parboil the fennel up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly, dry it well and refrigerate it covered; bring it out while the chicken is being prepared.
- •Reduce the chicken stock to its essence up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container. It may also be frozen in a small portion for several weeks.
- •The butter, flour and milk portion of the Mornay can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface, chill it, then reheat gently and add the fresh cooking liquor, chicken essence and cheeses shortly before glazing.
- •Cook the chicken near serving time. The final arrangement and broiler glaze are not brigade scaffolding; they are the finish that brings the whole dish together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 580g)
Calories
1140 calories
Total Fat
84 g
Saturated Fat
43 g
Trans Fat
2 g
Unsaturated Fat
35 g
Cholesterol
350 mg
Sodium
2320 mg
Total Carbohydrates
23 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
13 g
Protein
74 g
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