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 aux Truffes
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1576, Poulet Sauté aux Truffes, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Raw black truffle enters the butter-browned chicken halfway through, lending its perfume without surrendering it, before Madeira, sauce demi-glace, and cold butter turn the pan fond into a dark gloss.
Main Dishes
French
Special Occasion
Celebration
Dinner Party
30 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Poulet Sauté aux Truffes (butter-sautéed chicken with black truffles) teaches one exact restraint: truffle must cook long enough to perfume the butter, but not so long that the pan spends its scent. The slices enter only when the chicken is half-sautéed. Then the covered pan holds their aroma close while the flesh finishes gently.
The original entry assumed a saucier on staff and a stockpot of Sauce demi-glace never off the fire. At home, three tablespoons of a good real-stock demi-glace provide the honest equivalent, and one broad lidded skillet does the work of the sauté station. A salamander has no place in this method, so your broiler stays cold. The entry is already centered on one chicken, exactly right for four; its full six ounces of truffle and three tablespoons of half-glaze remain because those proportions are the dish. What disappears is brigade scaffolding, not the Madeira reduction or the monter au beurre (whisking in cold butter) that gives the sauce its gloss. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The finished chicken should be deeply bronzed, the truffle visible among the pieces, and the sauce dark, glossy, and generous enough to pool beneath them. The decisive step is simple: add the sliced truffle halfway through, never at the beginning.
Poulet sauté aux truffes belongs to the grand kitchens of Paris, which drew black truffles north from Périgord and folded them into the national sauce repertoire. Madeira and Sauce demi-glace reveal its dining-room lineage: the bird is cooked to order while the stockpot supplies concentrated depth at once. It is often mistaken for a rustic Périgord preparation, but its identity lies in the classical sauté sequence and the lavish quantity of fresh truffle, not in a regional farmhouse garnish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole chicken
Quantity
1 chicken (about 3½ lb / 1.6 kg)
cut into 8 serving pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
1¾ teaspoons (8.5 ml / 10 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 1.5 g)
unsalted butter for sautéing
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g)
fresh raw black Périgord truffles
Quantity
about 1 cup loosely packed (240 ml / 6 oz / 170 g)
brushed clean and thinly sliced at the last moment
medium-dry Madeira
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 44 g)
Sauce demi-glace (half-glaze sauce)
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 50 g)
warmed
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 1½ oz / 43 g)
cut into small cubes
cold water (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole chickencut into 8 serving pieces | 1 chicken (about 3½ lb / 1.6 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 1¾ teaspoons (8.5 ml / 10 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 1.5 g) |
| unsalted butter for sautéing | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) |
| fresh raw black Périgord trufflesbrushed clean and thinly sliced at the last moment | about 1 cup loosely packed (240 ml / 6 oz / 170 g) |
| medium-dry Madeira | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 44 g) |
| Sauce demi-glace (half-glaze sauce)warmed | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 50 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into small cubes | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 1½ oz / 43 g) |
| cold water (optional) | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet with a close-fitting lid
- •Truffle slicer or very sharp mandoline
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Warm oval serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Prepare chicken and truffles
Pat every chicken piece completely dry, then season with the salt and pepper. Set the breast pieces apart from the legs so you can judge each properly. Brush the truffles clean without soaking them, but leave them whole until the pan is ready; once sliced, their perfume begins escaping into the room instead of the butter.
Use a truffle slicer or a very sharp mandoline for thin, even slices. Thick pieces remain mute at the centre, while paper-thin scraps surrender their scent too quickly. - 2
Half-sauté the chicken
Melt 2 tablespoons of the sautéing butter in a 12-inch (30 cm) lidded skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, lay in half the chicken without crowding it and sauté, skin-side first, until deep golden on both sides but still undercooked near the bone, about 7 to 9 minutes. Sauté means cooking in a shallow film of hot fat, so the pieces need direct contact with the pan, not a heap. Transfer the first batch to a tray, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, and repeat. Keep the fond brown, never black; if the butter darkens too quickly, lower the heat before the second batch.
- 3
Add truffles halfway
Thinly slice the truffles now. Return all the chicken to the skillet, scatter the truffle slices over and between the pieces, and spoon the truffle-scented butter across the top. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low, and complete the cooking gently, about 10 to 16 minutes. Remove the breast pieces as soon as their thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C); let the legs continue until they reach at least 165°F (74°C), preferably nearer 175°F (79°C) for tenderness. If one piece finishes early, lift it out rather than spending the truffles' scent while the rest catches up. Transfer the chicken and every truffle slice to a warm platter.
- 4
Reduce the Madeira
Spoon off excess fat if more than about 2 tablespoons remain, taking care not to disturb the brown fond. Add the Madeira and raise the heat, scraping the skillet firmly until every caramelized trace dissolves. Reduce until the Madeira is syrupy and only about a tablespoon remains. If it vanishes before the fond has released, add the teaspoon of cold water and scrape again. Ça se rattrape.
- 5
Finish the half-glaze
Add the warmed Sauce demi-glace (half-glaze sauce) and simmer briefly until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Take the skillet completely off the heat, then monter au beurre by whisking in the cold butter one cube at a time. Do not boil after the butter goes in. If the sauce separates into greasy streaks, stop adding butter, whisk in a few drops of cold water, and continue only when it is smooth again. Taste before adding any more salt, then pour the sauce over the chicken and truffles. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Fresh black truffle is not a decorative extra here. Six ounces looks extravagant because it is, but the original proportion makes truffle the principal flavor rather than a few dark flecks. If only jarred truffles or truffle-flavored oil are available, wait for the season or choose another chicken sauté; neither replaces raw truffle honestly.
- •Use an unsalted or lightly salted Sauce demi-glace made from real brown stock, with enough natural gelatin to set softly when cold. A salty paste will become harsher as the Madeira reduces, and there is no sensible rescue for a sauce that begins over-seasoned.
- •Keep the breast and leg pieces under separate watch. A jointed chicken does not finish by committee, and removing each piece when ready is how one skillet serves both juicy breast meat and tender legs.
- •A mature red Burgundy suits the truffle's earthiness, while a full white Burgundy keeps the chicken and butter in the foreground. Pour the Madeira only into the pan; its sweetness is more useful in the sauce than in the wineglass.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and use them within two days. Reheat very gently with a spoonful of water, because boiling the mounted sauce will split it and prolonged heat will flatten the remaining truffle perfume.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken can be jointed and seasoned earlier in the day, then refrigerated uncovered so its surface dries. Let it stand out of the cold for about 20 minutes before sautéing.
- •Measure and warm the Sauce demi-glace before the chicken meets the pan. This replaces the brigade stockpot and leaves you free to watch the browning.
- •Keep the truffles whole, wrapped in fresh absorbent paper inside a covered container, until the skillet is ready. Do not slice them ahead.
- •The sauce cannot be held over direct heat once mounted with butter. Arrange the table and warm the platter before beginning the Madeira reduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 275g)
Calories
685 calories
Total Fat
45 g
Saturated Fat
19 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
220 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
59 g
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