Ailerons of Chicken

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 to 13-inch (30 to 32 cm) heavy sauté pan or skillet
• •Small saucepan for clarifying butter
• •Flat meat pounder or small heavy pan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the ailerons

   Check that each breast retains only the humerus, the plump first bone of the wing, and remove the skin if the butcher has left it on. Keep the minion fillet (tenderloin) tucked against the breast. Place each aileron between sheets of parchment and tap only the thickest lobe until the meat is an even ¾ inch (2 cm) thick; you are evening it, not pounding it into an escalope. Pat every surface thoroughly dry.

2. 2

   Clarify the butter

   Melt the butter over the lowest heat until it separates. Skim away the white foam, then pour the clear golden butterfat into a cup, leaving the milky sediment behind; you need about 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 55 g). If the butterfat looks cloudy, pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. Clarification is not brigade decoration: removing the milk solids lets the butter face the high heat without burning before the chicken gilds. Set a serving platter in a very low oven, no hotter than 175°F (80°C).

3. 3

   Season and flour

   Set a broad, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the ailerons evenly with the salt, then pass them through the flour immediately before cooking. Press lightly so the flour adheres, then shake off every loose speck; the coating should look like a veil, not breading. Flour applied early absorbs moisture and turns pasty, so the pan must already be waiting.

4. 4

   Sauté without waiting

   Add 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the clarified butter to the hot skillet, reserving the rest. When the butter shimmers without smoking, lay in all four ailerons, rounded side down and bones pointing toward the rim. Sauté without disturbing them for 3 to 4 minutes, until evenly butter-gold, then turn and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, spooning hot butter over the thick ends. They must gild and cook through at the same moment. The meat is ready when it feels resilient rather than hard and registers 160 to 162°F (71 to 72°C) away from the bone; verify that carryover heat brings it to 165°F (74°C) before eating. If the flour darkens while the center remains underdone, lower the heat one notch. Ça se rattrape: turn the pieces every 30 seconds and baste the thick ends until the temperature catches up.

   The ailerons must not overlap. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches (30 cm), divide them between two pans rather than cooking in batches; the first batch must never sit waiting for the second.

   If the butter smells scorched, lift the chicken out briefly, wipe the skillet carefully with folded paper held in tongs, and add the reserved clarified butter before continuing.
5. 5

   Dish at once

   Lift each aileron directly to the warm platter as it finishes. Do not cover the platter, pause to make a sauce, or let the chicken wait beside the stove; trapped moisture softens the flour and lingering heat tightens the breast. Carry it straight to the table while the surface still gleams with butter. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for small airline breasts, about 5 to 6 ounces (140 to 170 g) each, with the drumette or humerus attached. Most arrive skin-on, so state plainly that you want the skin removed. A boneless breast can take the same sauté, but it is no longer the classical aileron.
• •Choose four breasts of nearly identical size. The method depends on color and doneness arriving together, and one oversized modern breast will still be raw when its smaller companions are ready.
• •Clarified butter is the proper cooking fat here because ordinary butter's milk solids scorch under fast heat. Clarify it yourself, and keep the clear butterfat genuinely hot. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Prepare any accompaniment before the chicken enters the pan. Pommes purée or haricots verts suit it well, with a dry white Burgundy alongside, but neither the side dish nor the wine may make the ailerons wait.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarify the butter up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Melt it gently before cooking.
• •The ailerons may be trimmed and evened up to 8 hours ahead, then covered and refrigerated. Pat them dry again before seasoning.
• •Warm the platter, finish the accompaniments, and call everyone to the table before flouring the chicken. Once cooked, ailerons neither hold nor reheat gracefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 145g)