Poulet Sauté Japonaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 12-inch (30 cm) ovenproof sauté pan or 5-quart braiser
• •2-quart saucepan
• •Clean sturdy kitchen towel
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the stock

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the center. Simmer the veal stock in a small saucepan until reduced to ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml) and able to leave a thin, translucent film on a spoon. Keep it warm. It should have gentle body from gelatin and reduction, not the thickness of gravy.

2. 2

   Scrub and parboil

   Dampen the crosnes, place them with the coarse salt inside a folded clean kitchen towel, and rub them firmly for 2 to 3 minutes. The salt works into their crevices, removing soil and much of the papery skin without wasting the little tubers. Rinse them through several changes of cold water. Bring the measured water and 1 tablespoon of the fine salt to a boil, add the crosnes, and parboil for 5 minutes. They should yield slightly at the ridges but remain firm at the center. Drain and dry them thoroughly.

   Do not attack crosnes with a paring knife. Their knobs make peeling slow and wasteful; coarse salt does the work cleanly.
3. 3

   Brown the chicken

   Dry the chicken thoroughly and season it with the remaining 1½ teaspoons fine salt and the pepper. Melt one-third of the frying butter in a wide ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat. When the foam subsides, brown the chicken in batches, skin-side down first, adding the remaining frying butter in portions as needed. Give the skin 4 to 5 minutes without fussing with it, then brown the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. Deep gold is right. If the butter develops black flecks or smells bitter, lift out the chicken, pour off the burnt butter, wipe away the loose black specks while leaving the bronze fond attached, and continue with fresh butter from the measured amount. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Finish in the oven

   Add the dried crosnes to the sauté pan and roll them through the butter for 1 to 2 minutes. Return the chicken in a single layer, skin-side up, tucking the crosnes around and beneath the pieces. Transfer the uncovered pan to the oven. Begin checking after 15 minutes and continue until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part without touching bone, about 18 to 25 minutes. The legs may go closer to 175°F (79°C), while the crosnes should be tender but still hold their curled shape. If the breasts finish first, move them to the platter and let the legs continue. Timing serves the chicken, not the other way around.

5. 5

   Swill the pan

   Arrange the chicken on a warm platter and spoon the crosnes over it, keeping the pieces loosely covered nearby. Set the sauté pan over medium heat, pour in the warm reduced veal stock, and swill it around the pan while scraping up every soluble bronze speck. Simmer for 30 to 60 seconds, just until the jus lightly coats a spoon. If it becomes too concentrated, loosen it with a teaspoon of the measured cold water.

6. 6

   Mount the sauce

   Take the pan completely away from the heat and wait until the bubbling stops. Add the cold finishing butter a few cubes at a time, swirling or whisking until each addition disappears before adding the next. The monter au beurre is ready when the sauce looks glossy, lightly bronze, and unified. If an oily rim appears, stop adding butter and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water away from the heat; let the pan cool for 20 seconds, then continue a cube at a time. Ça se rattrape. Taste for salt, pour the sauce over the chicken and crosnes, and serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose crosnes that are firm, pale, and tightly ridged. Brown patches and softness mean they have been sitting too long. Their thin skins are perfectly edible once scrubbed with coarse salt.
• •If fresh crosnes are unavailable, plain vacuum-packed crosnes are the honest preserved choice. Rinse them, dry them, and add them only for the final 8 to 10 minutes in the oven. Avoid anything pickled or vinegared, which changes the veal-and-butter sauce. Jerusalem artichokes are not the same tuber.
• •Use unsalted veal stock with enough natural gelatin to set softly when cold. Reduction supplies the slight body the source requires; flour or cornstarch makes this small sauce blunt and pasty.
• •Keep the final butter cold and the pan away from the burner. Monter au beurre is an emulsion, and boiling drives its water and fat apart. We don't apologize for butter, but we do treat it properly.
• •A restrained white Burgundy, particularly a Mâcon with good acidity, suits the mild crosnes and buttery veal jus without covering the chicken.

Advance Preparation

• •Reduce the veal stock up to 3 days ahead, cool it promptly, and refrigerate it covered. Warm it before deglazing so it does not arrest the pan reduction.
• •Scrub and parboil the crosnes up to 6 hours ahead. Dry them well, refrigerate them covered, then let them lose their refrigerator chill while the chicken is browned.
• •The chicken can be cut into pieces and left uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. The dry surface browns beautifully. Season it only when the pan is nearly ready.
• •Cook and mount the sauce just before serving. If leftovers remain, refrigerate them for up to 3 days and reheat gently with a spoonful of veal stock; hard boiling will split the butter finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)