Filets

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Small sharp knife
• •Flat meat mallet or small heavy saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •4 wooden cocktail picks

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the service

   Finish the accompanying vegetables or salad before beginning the chicken. Warm four plates in the lowest oven, or fill them briefly with hot water and dry them well. Arrange the flour, salt, butter, thermometer, and serving fork beside the stove. This mise en place, work put in order, protects the defining demand of the recipe: once the suprêmes are cooked, nothing may keep them waiting.

2. 2

   Trim the suprêmes

   Pull the minion fillet, the small tenderloin, from the underside of each breast. Grip its white tendon through a clean towel, hold a small knife almost flat against it, and scrape the flesh away while pulling the tendon free. Set the minions aside. Place each large fillet between sheets of parchment and flatten only the thickest part until the meat is an even ⅝ inch (1.5 cm) thick. Keep the natural oval shape and don't pound it into a thin escalope.

   If one end remains distinctly thicker, correct it now with two or three gentle taps. Evenness is the one true thing to settle before the chicken touches the pan.
3. 3

   Contise the minions

   Contise each minion by making three tiny, regularly spaced incisions across its smooth side and half-inserting a thin slice of truffle into every cut. Curve each minion into a crescent with the truffle showing and secure the ends with a wooden pick. This keeps the book's truffle garnish without requiring a brigade cook to shape it at service. Keep the crescents cold while you prepare the large fillets.

4. 4

   Flour them lightly

   Dry every piece of chicken thoroughly and season both sides with the salt. Spread the flour on a plate, pass each suprême and minion through it, then tap and brush away everything that does not cling as a fine veil. Flour only when the skillet is nearly ready; left standing, it draws moisture from the meat and turns pasty instead of gilding.

5. 5

   Sauté and gild

   Heat the clarified butter in a heavy 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers freely across the surface. If it begins smoking, lift the pan from the heat; if it smells scorched, wipe the skillet carefully and begin with fresh clarified butter. Ça se rattrape. Lay in the four suprêmes, smooth side down, without letting them overlap. Sauté undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly gilded, then turn and cook the second side for about 2 minutes. The meat should feel resilient, not hard, and register 160 to 162°F (71 to 72°C) at its thickest point.

   If the surface gilds before the center is warm enough, lower the heat and turn the suprêmes every 30 seconds until they reach temperature. Add no liquid and don't cover the pan; moistening near a boil hardens this tender cut.
6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Transfer the suprêmes directly to the warm plates. During their brief carryover rest, sauté the minion crescents in the same butter for 45 to 60 seconds per side, until white throughout and registering 165°F (74°C). Remove the wooden picks and place one crescent beside each suprême. Confirm that the large fillets have reached 165°F (74°C); if not, return them to gentle heat for 20 to 30 seconds per side. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose small breasts weighing about 5 to 6 ounces (140 to 170 g) each, with the tenderloins still attached. If the market offers only very large breasts, divide them horizontally into even portions rather than trying to cook a thick club of meat through.
• •Clarified butter matters because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the pan to grow hot enough to gild the flour without burning. We don't apologize for butter, and we don't replace it with margarine.
• •Fresh truffle is splendid when available, but a sound whole preserved truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer outside its season. Pat it dry and slice it thinly. Synthetic truffle oil cannot be contised into the meat and does not belong here.
• •Do not deglaze the skillet for an improvised sauce. This entry is deliberately a master method for the fillet itself, and its warning against moistening is precise. Serve with buttered spinach, haricots verts, or peas already waiting on the plate.
• •A dry white Burgundy or a restrained white from the Loire suits the mild chicken and truffle without smothering them. Pour it before the suprêmes enter the pan, because these fillets wait for no corkscrew.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarified butter can be prepared several days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Measure it before cooking so it can melt evenly in the skillet.
• •The chicken may be trimmed and the minion fillets contised up to 4 hours ahead, then covered and refrigerated. Bring the pieces out about 15 minutes before cooking, but dry, season, and flour them only at the last moment.
• •The cooked suprêmes cannot be made ahead or held warm without losing the tenderness this method is designed to protect. Prepare every accompaniment first and sauté the chicken only when everyone is ready to eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)