Suprêmes de Volaille à la Pojarski

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Food processor with metal blade or a very sharp chef's knife
• •Chilled mixing bowl and sturdy spoon
• •Flexible bench scraper
• •13 to 14-inch heavy skillet
• •Two broad spatulas
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the panade

   Cover the fresh breadcrumbs with the milk and leave them only until thoroughly saturated, about 1 minute. Gather the crumb in your hands and squeeze firmly until no milk drips from it, but don't wring it dry enough to crumble. Weigh out exactly 1/2 cup packed (120 g). This panade, the milk-softened bread binder, must equal one-quarter of the trimmed chicken's weight; prepare a little more crumb if you come up short, or remove the excess if you have too much. Chill the panade while you prepare the chicken.

   Weigh the panade after soaking and squeezing. Its moisture changes its weight, and measuring the dry bread alone won't preserve the formula's proportion.
2. 2

   Mince everything cold

   Chill the processor bowl and blade, then refrigerate the chicken pieces and cubed butter until both feel very firm. Pulse the chicken in short bursts until finely minced but not puréed. Add the cold panade and pulse just until evenly distributed, then add the butter and pulse again until the mixture becomes cohesive and no large butter cubes remain. Scrape down the bowl as needed. If the bowl or mixture begins to feel warm, stop and chill it for 10 minutes before continuing; friction is useful for mincing and ruinous for this emulsion.

3. 3

   Incorporate the cream

   Transfer the mince to a chilled bowl. Add the cold cream 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) at a time, beating firmly with a sturdy spoon until each addition disappears before adding the next. Mix in the salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. The finished mixture should look moist and satiny but still hold a mound. If cream begins pooling or the mixture turns glossy, loose, or greasy, stop immediately. Set the bowl over ice or refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes, then beat gently until it tightens before continuing with the remaining cream. Ça se rattrape. Don't add extra flour or crumbs, which would change the ratio and make the suprêmes heavy.

   Cook a teaspoonful of the mixture in a dab of clarified butter and taste it. Raw poultry must never be tasted, and this small test lets you correct the salt, pepper, or nutmeg while correction is still possible.
4. 4

   Reconstruct the suprêmes

   Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, about 7 1/2 oz (210 g) each. With cold, lightly moistened hands and a flexible scraper, form each portion into the shape of a chicken suprême: a plump oval about 5 inches (13 cm) long, gently tapered at one end and no more than 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Set them on parchment and chill for 20 minutes. This short rest is the home equivalent of a cold working station; it firms the butter so the shapes survive the pan.

5. 5

   Dredge and cook

   Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Heat the clarified butter in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers without smoking. Dredge each chilled suprême lightly on both sides, brush away every loose patch of flour, and place all four in the pan without letting them touch. Cook undisturbed for 5 to 6 minutes, until the undersides form an even butter-gold crust with bronze edges. Turn carefully with two broad spatulas, lower the heat slightly, and cook the second side for 5 to 7 minutes, spooning the clarified butter over the shoulders of the cutlets. The centres must reach 165°F (74°C), since this is minced poultry.

   If the crust bronzes before the centre is cooked, lower the heat and cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Uncover for the final minute so the surface recovers its delicate crust.
6. 6

   Serve without delay

   Lift the suprêmes onto a warm platter and let them settle for only 2 minutes. Their crust is most delicate and their butter-rich interior most succulent straight from the pan, which is why the formula insists they be served as soon as ready. The garnish is deliberately optional, and no sauce is required. Bring them to the table while the clarified butter still gleams on the bronze surface. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The ratio scales cleanly. For every 100 g trimmed chicken, use 25 g squeezed panade, 25 g butter, and 25 g cream. C'est la même grammaire at any home quantity, but the ingredients must be weighed after trimming and squeezing.
• •Use fresh white crumb, not dry packaged crumbs or panko. Dry crumbs drink too much liquid and leave a grainy interior; this dish wants a supple panade that disappears into the chicken.
• •Butter and cream provide structure as well as richness. Margarine and low-fat cream don't behave the same way, and melted butter will leak from the cutlets instead of remaining suspended through the mince.
• •Clarified butter matters because its milk solids have been removed, letting the flour-dusted exterior bronze evenly without black specks. If making your own, melt unsalted butter gently, skim the foam, and pour the clear golden fat away from the pale solids.
• •The source leaves the garnish open. Buttered peas, sautéed mushrooms, glazed carrots, or a sharp green salad may sit alongside, but keep them separate and let the reconstructed suprêmes remain the point of the plate.
• •Pour a dry white with enough acidity for the butter and cream, such as Bourgogne Aligoté or a restrained Chardonnay.

Advance Preparation

• •The clarified butter may be prepared up to one week ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Warm it only until fluid before cooking.
• •The suprêmes may be shaped, covered, and refrigerated up to 4 hours before cooking. Dredge them only when the skillet is ready, or the flour will absorb moisture and turn pasty.
• •Don't cook the suprêmes in advance. Reheating firms the chicken, softens the crust, and sacrifices the delicacy the bread, butter, and cream were added to create.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)