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.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Suprêmes de Volaille Doria
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1593, Suprêmes de Volaille Doria, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Golden suprêmes meet Doria's quiet surprise: cucumber turned like garlic cloves and cooked in butter, then a final spooning of beurre noisette and lemon. Quick work, exact heat, and no saucepot required.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Suprêmes de Volaille Doria (chicken breast fillets with buttered cucumber and nut-brown butter) teaches restraint. A suprême is the tender breast fillet of the bird, and here it must turn golden before its center dries. Doria is not a sauce. It is the cucumber garnish, trimmed into garlic-clove shapes, cooked gently in butter, and kept distinctly fresh beneath the richness.
The original entry assumed small, evenly trimmed suprêmes, clarified butter ready beside the range, and another pair of hands turning cucumbers while the sauté cook watched the poultry. It needed neither a saucier, a standing stockpot, nor a salamander, so we invent none. At home, cook the cucumber first and hold it briefly, then give the chicken your full attention. Four portions, one skillet, one small saucepan. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Only the brigade scaffolding changes: the batch is smaller, a thermometer replaces practiced guesswork, and the garnish waits a few minutes for the chicken. The turned cucumber stays because it is the identity of Doria, while the quick sauté and last-minute beurre noisette are the dish itself. Before the chicken touches the pan, judge the heat: the clarified butter must shimmer without smoking, because that first contact decides whether the flour turns gold or drinks fat.
Suprêmes de Volaille Doria belongs to the Parisian classical repertoire, where à la Doria identifies cucumber cut into garlic-clove shapes and cooked in butter. The designation is sometimes mistaken for a composed sauce, but the preparation is deliberately spare: flour-dusted poultry, its cucumber garnish, beurre noisette, and lemon. It traveled readily from grand dining rooms to bourgeois home tables because it requires no stockpot or separate sauce, only exact knife work and a quick sauté.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
Quantity
4 (about 5 to 6 ounces / 140 to 170 g each)
medium seedless cucumbers
Quantity
2 (about 1 pound / 450 g total)
peeled
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1/3 cup (80 ml / 40 g)
for dredging
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 1/4 teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g)
divided
finely ground white pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
clarified butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
divided
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
for cooking the cucumber
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
for the beurre noisette
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets | 4 (about 5 to 6 ounces / 140 to 170 g each) |
| medium seedless cucumberspeeled | 2 (about 1 pound / 450 g total) |
| all-purpose flourfor dredging | 1/3 cup (80 ml / 40 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 1/4 teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) |
| finely ground white pepper | 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| clarified butterdivided | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| unsalted butterfor cooking the cucumber | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| unsalted butterfor the beurre noisette | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small paring knife with a 3 to 4-inch (7 to 9 cm) blade
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
- •Wide 10-inch (25 cm) pan for the cucumber
- •Small light-colored saucepan for judging the beurre noisette
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Warmed oval serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Turn the cucumber
Cut each peeled cucumber crosswise into pieces about 2 inches (5 cm) long, then quarter them lengthwise. Trim away the soft seed line and use a small paring knife to turn each firm piece into a plump, tapered oval resembling a garlic clove. Aim for 20 to 24 pieces of similar size so they cook together. Pat them dry. Set each chicken fillet between sheets of parchment and press the thick end gently to an even 3/4 inch (2 cm), without pounding the meat thin.
- 2
Butter the cucumber
Melt the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook uncovered for 7 to 9 minutes, rolling the pieces often and basting them with butter. They should become tender enough for a knife tip to enter with slight resistance while remaining pale green and intact. If the cucumber releases a puddle, lift out the pieces, reduce the liquid until only butter and a light glaze remain, then roll them through it again. Hold off the heat under a loose cover.
- 3
Season and dredge
Pat the chicken completely dry, then season both sides with the remaining salt and the white pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow dish and dredge each suprême immediately before cooking, pressing lightly and shaking off every loose patch. You want a veil of flour, not a crust. Flour left sitting on damp chicken turns pasty and will not color evenly.
- 4
Sauté the suprêmes
Heat 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter in a 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay in the suprêmes smooth-side down without crowding and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until evenly golden. Turn once, add the remaining clarified butter if the pan looks dry, and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. The chicken is ready to leave the pan at 160°F (71°C), then must reach 165°F (74°C) as it rests. If the flour colors too quickly while the center remains underdone, take the skillet off the heat for 30 seconds and lower the flame. If loose flour has scorched, transfer the chicken to a plate, wipe the skillet carefully, add the reserved clarified butter, and continue gently. Ça se rattrape. Move the cooked suprêmes to a warmed platter and arrange the cucumber around them.
- 5
Make the beurre noisette
Put the 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt, foam, and quiet while you swirl the pan. When the milk solids turn hazelnut brown and the butter smells toasted, immediately pour it into a cool bowl to halt the cooking. Pale butter lacks the necessary depth, but black, acrid butter cannot be disguised. If it crosses that line, begin again. This takes minutes, and the finish deserves them.
- 6
Finish and serve
Spoon the beurre noisette lightly over the suprêmes and cucumber, letting a little pool on the platter. Scatter the lemon juice in drops over the chicken rather than pouring it in one place. The lemon should sharpen the butter without becoming a separate sauce. Serve immediately while the chicken is tender, the flour coating is golden, and the cucumber still holds its shape. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose narrow seedless cucumbers with firm flesh. Large cucumbers with watery seed cavities collapse in the butter, while zucchini changes both the flavor and the meaning of Doria.
- •Small chicken breasts suit this preparation better than oversized ones. If yours are very large, divide them horizontally into four even portions; the source calls for a quick sauté, and thick poultry cannot obey that without drying outside.
- •Use clarified butter for the chicken, not ordinary butter. Removing the milk solids lets the flour turn gold over lively heat without leaving bitter black flecks. Keep whole butter for the cucumber and the beurre noisette, where its milk solids provide flavor.
- •Do not turn the cucumber into perfect little sculptures at the expense of supper. Similar size matters more than symmetry, but keep the tapered clove shape because that is what makes the garnish Doria.
- •Serve with a dry, fresh white wine such as Chablis or Mâcon-Villages. The acidity meets the butter and lemon, while the wine remains quiet enough for the cucumber.
- •This dish is best from the pan. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them covered for up to 2 days; reheat gently in a covered skillet with a small piece of butter, knowing the chicken will be firmer the second time.
Advance Preparation
- •Turn the cucumber up to 6 hours ahead. Wrap the pieces in a barely damp towel, seal them in a container, and refrigerate; pat them thoroughly dry before they meet the butter.
- •Even the chicken portions up to 8 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator. Season and dredge only just before cooking, or the flour will absorb moisture and turn sticky.
- •Clarified butter can be prepared several days ahead and refrigerated. Bring it near room temperature before cooking so it melts promptly and the chicken enters a properly heated pan.
- •The beurre noisette must be made at the finish. Browning it early and reheating it risks taking the milk solids from hazelnut to bitter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
485 calories
Total Fat
32 g
Saturated Fat
18 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
185 mg
Sodium
760 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
37 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Poultry (Volaille) - Suprêmes de Volaille
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Suprêmes
Suprêmes de volaille sautés teach the Paris rule of tender breast meat: flour lightly, gild quickly in clarified butter, add no liquid, and carry the plates straight from skillet to table.
Chef Juliette
Côtelettes
Small chicken suprêmes, wing bone attached, take a veil of flour and a swift bath in clarified butter, turning golden at the exact moment their flesh becomes tender.
Chef Juliette
Ailerons of Chicken
Ailerons de poulet teach the discipline of fast sautéing: small skinless breasts, wing bone attached, floured lightly and gilded in clarified butter, then carried straight from pan to warm platter before tenderness has time to leave.