Chef Juliette
Filets
Filets de volaille sautés teach the discipline of even cutting and last-minute cooking: flour lightly, gild quickly in clarified butter, and serve before a tender chicken breast has time to harden.
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Suprêmes de Volaille Alexandra
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1585, Suprêmes de Volaille Alexandra, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Dry-poached suprêmes under truffle and chicken-deepened Mornay, glazed to pale gold and ringed with buttered asparagus tips: a grand-kitchen composition translated faithfully for four at home.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
30 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield4 servings
Suprêmes de Volaille Alexandra (dry-poached chicken breast fillets with truffle, Mornay cheese sauce, and buttered asparagus tips) teaches the discipline of finishing before the meat is finished. A suprême is the breast fillet of a fowl, and here it is cooked without browning, veiled with black truffle and Mornay, then glazed just long enough for the surface to catch gold. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is this: the chicken must leave its dry poach a little shy of done, because the glaze supplies the final heat.
The original recipe assumed a saucier on staff, chicken essence drawn from a stock never off the fire, and a salamander fierce enough to color sauce in moments. At home, reduce one cup of unsalted stock to a concentrated spoonful, make a small Mornay in one saucepan, and use a fully heated broiler over a broiler-safe platter. The brigade's holding pans and service quantities are scaffolding and can go; the dry poach, truffle, chicken-flavored Mornay, fast glaze, and asparagus heads bound with butter are the dish and must stay. This version feeds four, one cook, one stove, one evening.
When it lands correctly, the suprêmes are ivory and succulent beneath a thin golden veil, black truffle showing through, with bright green asparagus tips gathered around the edge in buttery little heaps. Watch the thermometer and the broiler, not the clock. Overcooked breast cannot be uncooked, but a thick or split Mornay can be brought back before glazing. Ça se rattrape, and the method tells you where.
Suprêmes de Volaille Alexandra belongs to the Parisian grand-kitchen repertoire, where a personal name signaled a fixed garnish as clearly as a regional title signaled a particular larder. Alexandra joins the most delicate poultry cut with black truffle, Mornay flavored with chicken essence, and buttered asparagus tips, a composition built for formal service rather than a regional farmhouse table. It passed into bourgeois home kitchens through the classical cookbooks, with the domestic broiler taking the salamander's place while the garnish and sequence remained intact.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsalted chicken stock
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
for the chicken essence
boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
Quantity
4 (about 1½ lb / 680 g total)
of even size
fine salt
Quantity
1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7.5 g)
divided
ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g)
unsalted butter for dry-poaching
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
unsalted butter for the Mornay
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
plain flour
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 24 g)
whole milk
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 310 g)
divided
heavy cream
Quantity
5 tablespoons (75 ml / 75 g)
divided
Gruyère
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 50 g)
finely grated
Parmesan
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 20 g)
finely grated
black truffle
Quantity
1 small truffle (about 20 g)
fresh or whole preserved, thinly sliced
asparagus tips
Quantity
24 (about 8 oz / 225 g)
trimmed to 2½-inch lengths
unsalted butter for the asparagus
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsalted chicken stockfor the chicken essence | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| boneless, skinless chicken breast filletsof even size | 4 (about 1½ lb / 680 g total) |
| fine saltdivided | 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7.5 g) |
| ground white pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.5 g) |
| unsalted butter for dry-poaching | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| unsalted butter for the Mornay | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| plain flour | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 24 g) |
| whole milkdivided | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 310 g) |
| heavy creamdivided | 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 75 g) |
| Gruyèrefinely grated | ½ cup (120 ml / 50 g) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | ¼ cup (60 ml / 20 g) |
| black trufflefresh or whole preserved, thinly sliced | 1 small truffle (about 20 g) |
| asparagus tipstrimmed to 2½-inch lengths | 24 (about 8 oz / 225 g) |
| unsalted butter for the asparagus | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •1-quart wide saucepan for reducing the chicken essence
- •2-quart heavy saucepan and whisk for the Mornay
- •12-inch ovenproof sauté pan with lid
- •Baking parchment
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Broiler-safe oval serving platter
- •Wide saucepan and bowl for blanching the asparagus
Instructions
- 1
Reduce the essence
Pour the unsalted chicken stock into a small, wide saucepan and bring it to a lively simmer. Reduce it to exactly ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g), about 10 to 15 minutes, until its aroma is distinctly chicken-rich and its surface looks lightly syrupy. This is the home equivalent of chicken essence from the stockpot. If it slips past the mark, add hot water a teaspoon at a time until you have ¼ cup again. Ça se rattrape.
- 2
Build the Mornay
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the milk and 1 tablespoon of the cream for adjustments. Melt the Mornay butter in a medium heavy saucepan over gentle heat, stir in the flour, and cook the roux for 2 minutes without letting it color. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining milk gradually, working smooth after every addition. Return it to a bare simmer and cook for 5 minutes, whisking along the corners, then add the chicken essence and 4 tablespoons of cream. Simmer for another 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the Gruyère and Parmesan until smooth, then season cautiously with some of the salt and white pepper. The Mornay should coat a spoon in an even ivory layer and fall in a broad ribbon. If it tightens, loosen it with the reserved milk; if it turns greasy after the cheese goes in, remove it from the heat and whisk in the reserved cold cream a teaspoon at a time. Strain out any stubborn lumps rather than fighting them.
- 3
Blanch the asparagus
Bring a wide saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus tips and blanch until brilliant green and just tender when pierced, about 2 minutes for slender tips or 3 minutes for thick ones. Lift them straight into cold water to stop the cooking, then drain and dry them thoroughly. They will be warmed in butter at the finish, so leave a little firmness in them now.
- 4
Poach the suprêmes dry
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Rub a shallow 12-inch ovenproof pan with half the poaching butter. Season the suprêmes evenly with about ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the white pepper, then arrange them rounded side up without crowding. Dot them with the remaining butter. Lay a buttered round of baking parchment directly over the chicken and cover the pan tightly with its lid or foil. Poach in the oven without liquid and without browning until the center of the thickest suprême reaches 155°F (68°C), checking after 12 minutes; evenly sized pieces usually need 15 to 18 minutes. If one reaches 165°F (74°C) before glazing, remove it at once, keep it uncovered, and give it only the briefest flash beneath the broiler later.
- 5
Truffle and glaze
Move an oven rack about 5 inches beneath the broiler and heat the broiler fully. Rewarm the Mornay over the gentlest heat, loosening it with a little reserved milk if it no longer falls in a broad ribbon. Transfer the suprêmes, rounded side up, to a broiler-safe oval platter. Lay several thin truffle slices over each breast, then coat each one completely with Mornay, giving it a veil rather than a lake. If the sauce slides straight off, return it to low heat and simmer for a minute before trying again. Broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching without turning away, until the coating catches small pale-gold flecks and the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) at the center. The salamander worked through fierce, immediate top heat; your broiler must do the same job quickly, so don't wait for a dark crust.
- 6
Butter and arrange
Melt the asparagus butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the dried tips with the remaining salt and toss for 1 to 2 minutes, only until warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl until the butter clings to the asparagus, lier au beurre, binding with butter, rather than sitting as loose fat beneath it. Arrange the tips in four small heaps around the edge of the glazed suprêmes and carry the platter straight to the table. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose four breasts within an ounce of one another and from the same sort of bird. Equal size matters more than grandeur here; one enormous suprême among three modest ones ruins the timing for everyone.
- •Use unsalted stock for the chicken essence. A salted carton reduced to one quarter of its volume can become briny before it becomes concentrated; if low-sodium stock is all you have, taste it halfway through and dilute it if necessary.
- •A fresh black truffle is splendid in season, but a good whole preserved truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer at any other time. Truffle oil cannot replace the slices: it brings perfume but none of the truffle's earthy texture beneath the Mornay.
- •Fresh asparagus gives the cleanest little heaps. If the market's asparagus is tired, use frozen asparagus tips picked at their peak, blanch them only briefly, dry them well, and expect a softer bite. The asparagus is part of the Alexandra garnish, not an optional green decoration.
- •The glaze wants a broiler already at full heat. Slow warming under a weak element keeps cooking the chicken while the sauce sits pale, which defeats the whole method.
- •Pour a broad, dry white Burgundy or brut Champagne. Both have enough freshness for the asparagus and enough body for truffle, cheese, cream, and butter.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken essence can be reduced up to 3 days ahead, covered, and chilled. Warm it before adding it to the Mornay.
- •The Mornay can be made 1 day ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface, chill it, and reheat over very low heat with a spoonful of milk; never boil it once the cheese is in.
- •The asparagus tips can be blanched up to 6 hours ahead, dried thoroughly, and chilled. Butter them only when the glazed chicken comes from beneath the broiler.
- •Do not dry-poach the suprêmes ahead. Reheating breast meat under sauce costs more tenderness than the saved minutes are worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 325g)
Calories
580 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
21 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
220 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
50 g
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