Suprêmes de Volaille Écarlate

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with chilled bowl and blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •⅝-inch (1.5 cm) round cutter or clean metal piping tip
• •Wide lidded ovenproof sauté pan
• •Wide shallow poaching pan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the tongue

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade for 15 minutes. From the broadest tongue slices, cut 16 scarlet roundels about ⅝ inch (1.5 cm) across. A clean metal piping tip makes a perfectly good cutter. Finely chop ⅓ cup (80 ml / 55 g) of the remaining tongue for the mousselines, keeping the pieces distinct rather than mashed, then cover and chill both preparations.

   The tongue supplies the entire visual argument. Choose cooked cured tongue that is rosy scarlet through the centre, not gray fresh tongue, and ask for broad slices about ⅛ inch thick.
2. 2

   Make the mousseline

   Put the cold diced chicken, ¾ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon white pepper, and the nutmeg in the chilled processor. Pulse until very fine, scrape the bowl, then pulse in the egg white until the paste becomes cohesive. With the machine running in short bursts, add ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) cream gradually, stopping as soon as the mousseline is smooth, glossy, and softly mounded. Press it once through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice. If it turns grainy or leaves greasy streaks, stop processing. Ça se rattrape: chill it over ice for 5 minutes, then work in 1 tablespoon of the reserved cold cream with a spatula. Never add flour, which saves the shape by sacrificing the mousseline.

   Poach a teaspoon of mousseline in barely quivering water and taste it. If it is firm or rubbery, fold another tablespoon of cold cream into the bowl; if it spreads, chill it for 10 minutes before shaping.
3. 3

   Poach flat quenelles

   Bring the measured water to 175 to 180°F (79 to 82°C) in a wide pan. Butter four squares of parchment with 1 tablespoon butter and spread one-quarter of the mousseline on each, making flat ovals about 4½ by 2¾ inches (11 by 7 cm) and ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Lower them parchment-side down into the water; after 2 minutes, peel away the paper with tongs. Poach without boiling until the centres reach 165°F (74°C), 8 to 10 minutes. A hard boil riddles mousselines with holes and toughens them. If the water boils, pull the pan off the heat, add a splash of cool water, and continue gently. Lift the quenelles onto a buttered shallow dish, cover, and hold.

4. 4

   Build sauce suprême

   Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this roux blanc (white roux) over low heat for 2 minutes without allowing it to color. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) stock, then whisk the remainder into the roux a little at a time. Bring it to a bare simmer and cook for 15 minutes, skimming away any surface foam. Add ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon in a light film. Strain it through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. If it is lumpy, do not fight it with furious whisking. Strain it, then continue. If the cream separates, take the pan off the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon cold cream. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Incise the suprêmes

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Pat the four suprêmes dry and place them display-side up. Using the small cutter as a guide, mark four shallow circles across each breast, then lift away no more than ⅛ inch (3 mm) of flesh with the point of a paring knife. Press one tongue roundel into each pocket so it sits flush. This is the home translation of the book's terse instruction to incise the suprêmes: shallow inlay, not deep stuffing. Season the undersides with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper, leaving the decorated surfaces clean.

6. 6

   Poach them dry

   Butter a wide lidded ovenproof sauté pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Arrange the suprêmes decorated-side up without crowding, cover them with a round of parchment, then close the lid. Cook in the oven without added liquid or browning for 15 to 20 minutes, until the thickest centre reaches 160 to 162°F (71 to 72°C). Place the covered dish of mousselines in the oven for the final 8 minutes. Transfer the suprêmes to a warm plate and rest them covered for 5 minutes, until carryover heat brings them to 165°F (74°C). If the butter at the pan edge starts to brown, lower the oven and add 1 tablespoon of reserved stock around the meat. The decorated tops must remain pale.

7. 7

   Finish the sauce

   Pour the chicken's buttery cooking juices into the sauce and bring it to a full simmer for 2 minutes, then strain once more. Add the lemon juice and taste before adding more salt, because the tongue carries its own. The sauce should fall from the spoon in a thin, glossy sheet. If it sits heavily or hides the spoon beneath it, whisk in reserved stock a teaspoon at a time. If it runs like broth, simmer it briefly. The final consistency is not decoration; it is what lets the scarlet remain visible.

8. 8

   Assemble the écarlate

   Set the four warm, flat mousseline quenelles on a heated oval platter. Sprinkle each with the finely chopped red tongue, then place one suprême directly on top. Spoon sauce suprême over each portion in a restrained, even veil, leaving every roundel legible beneath the gloss. Pass the remaining sauce separately. Do not brown, gratinate, or add herbs. The ivory and scarlet are complete. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Technique first, especially with the chicken. Choose four modest, evenly sized breasts before four enormous ones; equal thickness means they finish together and remain tender.
• •Clear stock matters visually. A cloudy stock still tastes of chicken, but its particles dull the sauce and muddy the tongue's color. Use unsalted, gelatin-rich stock and strain it before measuring.
• •The food processor removes the brigade's repeated pounding, but not the cold discipline. Chill the blade, chicken, egg white, cream, and bowl. Warm mousseline separates because the fat leaves the protein structure meant to hold it.
• •A dry white Burgundy has enough breadth for the cream and enough acidity for the cured tongue. Serve it cool rather than icy, and keep the rest of the plate plain.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut the tongue roundels and chopped garnish up to 2 days ahead. Keep them separately covered in the refrigerator so the cut surfaces remain moist and scarlet.
• •Make and poach the mousseline quenelles up to 8 hours ahead. Chill them promptly, covered, then warm them in a buttered covered dish during the final 8 minutes of the chicken's cooking.
• •Prepare the roux-and-stock base of the sauce up to 1 day ahead, stopping before the cream is added. Chill it promptly, reheat at a bare simmer, then add the cream and finish with the fresh chicken juices shortly before serving.
• •Incise and garnish the raw suprêmes up to 2 hours before cooking. Keep them covered and cold, then take them directly from the refrigerator to the buttered pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)