Poulet Sauté Portugaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy sauté pan or skillet with a lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Heatproof oval serving platter
• •Small rimmed baking tray
• •Heatproof bowl for the reserved cooking fat

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the mise

   Set an oven rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the broiler and warm a heatproof serving platter in a 170°F (75°C) oven. Concasser means to chop roughly: peel and seed the measured tomato flesh, then cut it into irregular small pieces rather than puréeing it. Slice the mushrooms, chop the onion, crush the small amount of garlic, and halve the plum tomatoes. Dry the chicken thoroughly, then season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper. Keep every ingredient beside the stove, because once the garnish begins reducing, it wants your attention.

2. 2

   Sauté the chicken

   Sauté, in the book's sense, means cooking the pieces in a shallow film of hot fat while turning them for even color. Heat the butter and oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat until the butter's foam subsides. Brown the chicken in two batches, skin-side first, keeping a lively sizzle without letting the butter blacken. Give the skin 6 to 8 minutes and the second side 3 to 4 minutes, moving each piece only when it releases cleanly. Return all the pieces to the skillet, cover slightly askew, and lower the heat. Cook for 12 to 18 minutes, removing pieces as they finish: every piece must reach at least 165°F (74°C) away from the bone, while thighs and drumsticks are more tender near 175°F (79°C). Transfer the chicken skin-side up to the warm platter.

   If the butter begins blackening before the chicken colors, lower the heat at once. Bronze tastes of toasted milk solids; black tastes bitter, and no garnish can disguise it.
3. 3

   Drain to the fond

   Hold the chicken uncovered in the low oven. Spoon all but about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of fat from the skillet into a heatproof bowl, saving it for the tomato halves. Leave the brown glaze on the pan floor untouched; that fond is the foundation. If you see isolated black specks, lift those away with the corner of a paper towel, but keep everything deep brown.

4. 4

   Fry the aromatics

   Return the skillet to medium-low heat and add the crushed garlic and chopped half-onion to the remaining fat. Fry them for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and lightly golden without a raw edge. The garlic must remain pale. If it colors too quickly, pull the skillet from the heat, stir until the sizzling calms, and resume over a lower flame.

5. 5

   Reduce the garnish dry

   Add the tomato concassé, sliced mushrooms, white wine, parsley, and ¼ teaspoon of the remaining salt together, preserving the source's sequence. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring and scraping the fond into the mixture. The mushrooms will release water and the pan will look wetter before it looks right. Continue until a spoon drawn across the skillet leaves a clear trail, no liquid gathers in it, and the garnish sizzles in butter rather than bubbling in water. If it catches while a puddle remains, lower the heat and add 1 teaspoon of the chicken's resting juices, scrape the browned edge into the mixture, then spread it thin and resume reducing. Ça se rattrape. Stir in any remaining chicken juices and reduce once more to the same clinging consistency.

   Do not reach for flour or tomato paste. Driving away the free moisture is what concentrates the flavor and makes the garnish grip the chicken; that reduction is the dish.
6. 6

   Broil and assemble

   Remove the chicken platter from the oven and turn the broiler to high. Set the plum tomato halves cut-side up on a small baking tray, brush them with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of the reserved chicken fat, and season with the final ¼ teaspoon salt. Broil for 4 to 6 minutes, until their cut faces are lightly bronzed and their edges have softened without collapsing. Spoon the concentrated Portugaise garnish over the chicken so it covers the pieces and clings to their skin. Arrange the four tomato halves around the platter and serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The garnish needs exactly twice as much peeled tomato as mushroom by weight, 114 g to 57 g. That ratio comes from the source and keeps the mushroom present without letting it turn the preparation earthy and grey.
• •When fresh tomatoes are pale, use a well-drained canned whole tomato for the concassé. The surrounding halves need firmness more than sweetness, so sound plum tomatoes still do their job under the broiler.
• •Ask the butcher to cut a small chicken into eight pieces. If buying parts, use 2 bone-in breast halves, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, and 2 whole wings totaling about 3½ lb (1.6 kg); remove each piece when it reaches its proper temperature.
• •The source also permits tomatoes stuffed with rice around the platter. For that branch, replace the halved plum tomatoes with 4 small hollowed tomatoes filled with 1 cup (240 ml / 180 g) cooked rice mixed with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, then bake at 375°F (190°C) until tender, about 20 minutes.
• •Pour a dry white with enough freshness for the tomatoes, or a light Beaujolais served cool. Avoid a heavily oaked wine, both in the pan and in the glass; the garnish is concentrated enough without another loud voice.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them covered for up to 3 days. Reheat the chicken gently to 165°F (74°C); if the garnish loosens, return it to the skillet and reduce it until it clings again.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can be jointed, dried, and salted up to 12 hours ahead, then refrigerated uncovered on a tray. The dry surface browns more readily when it meets the butter.
• •The tomato concassé and chopped onion can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerated separately. Crush the garlic and slice the mushrooms just before cooking so their flavor and color stay fresh.
• •The plum tomatoes can be halved and arranged on their baking tray up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them chilled, then brush with the reserved cooking fat only when the broiler is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)