Suprêmes de Volaille Montpensier

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy skillet, 12 to 14 inches (30 to 35 cm)
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
• •Flat meat mallet or small heavy saucepan
• •Two shallow breading dishes
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small pale-coloured saucepan
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the suprêmes

   Set each suprême between two sheets of parchment and gently flatten only the thickest part until the breast is an even 3/4 inch (2 cm) throughout. Pat the chicken dry, then season both sides with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper. Set a wire rack over a tray. If the breasts will not fit your skillet without touching, heat the oven to 325°F (165°C); it will serve only as a finishing safety net.

   Strike gently with the flat side of a meat mallet or a small saucepan. You are evening the meat, not turning it into a thin escalope.
2. 2

   Blanch the asparagus

   Bring a saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus tips and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until vivid green and tender at the cut end but still resilient. Transfer them to cold water, then drain and dry them thoroughly. The cold water preserves their colour while you cook the chicken; drying matters because water would dilute the butter used to bind them at the finish.

3. 3

   Bread the chicken

   Put the beaten eggs and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes. Dip each suprême directly into the egg, let the excess fall away, then lay it in the crumbs and press gently on both sides. The source calls for egg and bread crumbs, with no flour underneath, so keep that clean sequence. Place the breaded suprêmes on the rack and leave them for 10 minutes. If a bare patch appears, dab it with egg and press on fresh crumbs now. Ça se rattrape before the pan.

4. 4

   Sauté in clarified butter

   Heat the clarified butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers but does not smoke. Add the suprêmes without crowding and sauté, cooking briskly in a shallow layer of fat, for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side. Turn once and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the crumb is evenly golden and the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Work in two batches if necessary, holding the first on the rack without covering it. If the crumb colours before the centre is ready, lower the heat and transfer the chicken to the rack in the oven until it reaches temperature. Ça se rattrape, and the crust stays crisp.

   Do not drain the suprêmes on paper. It traps moisture under the crust; a wire rack keeps the underside crisp.
5. 5

   Bind the asparagus

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the unsalted butter in the emptied asparagus pan over medium-low heat. Add the dry asparagus tips and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, then turn them gently for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and coated in a close, glossy film of butter. Keep them intact. These are distinct little heaps around the crown, not vegetables stirred into a sauce.

6. 6

   Make the beurre noisette

   Put the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) butter in a small pale-coloured saucepan over medium heat. Let it foam, then swirl as the foam thins and the milk solids turn hazelnut brown. Pull it from the heat the instant it smells toasted and sweet. A black, bitter beurre noisette cannot be rescued, so if it crosses that line, begin again with fresh butter. Three minutes of butter is cheaper than serving bitterness.

7. 7

   Build the crown

   Arrange the four suprêmes in a loose crown on a warm oval platter, thick ends facing outward and narrow ends slightly overlapping. Place one truffle slice upon each breast, then arrange the asparagus tips in four small heaps around the crown. Spoon only a few drops of the beurre noisette over every suprême at the last moment, enough to perfume and gloss the crumb without soaking it. Carry the platter straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose four breasts close in weight, preferably 5 to 6 ounces (140 to 170 g) each. Technique first, always: modest chicken trimmed evenly will cook better than costly breasts left thick at one end and thin at the other.
• •Use fine dry bread crumbs, not coarse panko. The source intends a close, even jacket that follows the shape of the suprême and browns in clarified butter without forming a heavy shell.
• •Clarified butter is the right sautéing fat because its milk solids have been removed, allowing the crumb to colour before the fat scorches. To make it, melt unsalted butter gently, skim the foam, and pour the clear golden fat away from the pale solids at the bottom.
• •The truffle defines Montpensier and is not a decorative extra. Fresh black truffle is splendid in season; a good preserved whole truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer at other times. Pat it dry and slice it thinly. Truffle oil does not replace it.
• •If fresh asparagus is tired or woody, use good frozen asparagus tips, thawed and dried well, then warm them directly in butter without blanching. Save the trimmed fresh stalks for soup or an omelette.
• •Pour a rounded white Burgundy such as Saint-Véran or Montagny. It has enough body for the butter and chicken without trampling the asparagus or truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Clarify the butter several days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Bring it back to a pourable consistency before cooking.
• •Trim and flatten the suprêmes up to one day ahead, then keep them covered and cold. Season and bread them no more than 2 hours before cooking; refrigerate them uncovered on the rack so the coating stays dry.
• •Blanch, chill, and dry the asparagus tips earlier in the day. Refrigerate them covered, then bind them with butter while the cooked chicken rests.
• •Slice preserved truffle shortly before service. Make the beurre noisette only after the chicken is cooked, because its fragrance and the crust are both at their best when the platter goes directly to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)