Suprêmes de Volaille Rossini

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch / 30 cm heavy sauté pan
• •2-quart / 2-liter wide saucepan or saucier
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Heatproof oval serving platter
• •Fine skimmer and whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Organize the service

   Keep the foie gras in the refrigerator until the chicken has finished resting. Pat the suprêmes dry and gently press the thickest part of each breast to an even ¾ inch / 2 cm thickness without flattening it into an escalope. Slice the truffle, cover it, and place the serving platter near the stove. This dish finishes quickly, so every component must already know where it is going.

2. 2

   Reduce the sauce

   If the cold stock does not set like soft jelly, reserve 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) and sprinkle the gelatin over it; leave it for 5 minutes. Bring the remaining stock to a brisk simmer in a wide saucepan and reduce it to about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), skimming when needed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the bloomed gelatin, if using, then add the Madeira and simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, until about 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) remain and the sauce lightly naps the back of a spoon. If it turns sticky or salty before reaching that volume, loosen it with hot water a tablespoon at a time; if it remains thin, keep reducing. Ça se rattrape. Hold it below a simmer.

3. 3

   Clarify the butter

   Set aside 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter for the foie gras and cut 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) into cold cubes for the sauce. Melt the remaining butter gently until it separates, skim away the surface foam, and pour the clear golden fat into a cup, leaving the pale milk solids behind. Clarified butter is still real butter, but it tolerates the heat of the sauté without scorching.

4. 4

   Sauté the suprêmes

   Season the suprêmes with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) salt and most of the white pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 40 g) clarified butter in a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Lay in the chicken with its smooth presentation side down and leave it undisturbed until evenly butter-gold, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn, lower the heat to medium, and baste with the butter as the second side cooks, another 4 to 6 minutes. The thickest part should reach 160 to 162°F / 71 to 72°C, then rise to 165°F / 74°C while resting. If the outside colors before the center is ready, lower the heat and cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes; if it remains below 165°F / 74°C after resting, return it to the gentle pan. Transfer the suprêmes to a plate and cover loosely for 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Finish the Madeira sauce

   Fill the heatproof serving platter with hot water and leave it for several minutes, then empty and dry it thoroughly. Bring the sauce back to a bare simmer and remove it from the heat. Monter au beurre, whisk in the 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) cold butter a cube at a time, until the sauce is glossy and cohesive. Fold in the truffle slices and the optional packing liquid, taste carefully, then adjust with the remaining salt and pepper. If the sauce separates into oily beads, whisk 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) cold water in vigorously off the heat. Cover and keep it beside the stove, never simmering after the truffle enters.

6. 6

   Toss the foie gras

   Wipe the sauté pan clean and set it over medium heat. Take the foie gras directly from the refrigerator, pat it dry, and season it lightly with the remaining salt and pepper. Add the reserved 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter; when it foams, lay in the collops and sauté for 30 to 45 seconds per side, spooning the butter over them once. They should take a light golden color and soften while still holding their shape. If a collop begins releasing fat rapidly or slumping, lift it out immediately and drain it briefly. More cooking will not put it back together. The sauce is ready, the platter is warm, and the chicken has rested before this moment because foie gras waits for no one.

7. 7

   Build the crown

   Arrange the four foie gras collops in a loose ring on the warm platter. Set one suprême over each collop, angling the tapered ends toward the center to form the crown specified by the original formula. Spoon the strong Madeira sauce over the chicken and around the base, distributing the truffle slices across all four portions while leaving some golden surface visible. Carry it straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy raw whole-lobe foie gras cut into firm collops, not pâté, mousse, or torchon. Those are already prepared and will collapse in the pan. Ask the seller to cut four equal slices if a whole lobe is more than you need.
• •Fresh black Périgord truffle is splendid when the season gives it. A good preserved whole truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer at other times; include a spoonful of its packing liquid in the sauce. Truffle oil supplies perfume but not the truffle's texture or quiet depth, so it doesn't belong here.
• •Unsalted brown veal stock is the nearest home equivalent to the sauce pot the formula assumes, and it should set softly when cold. Strong chicken stock can stand in, strengthened with the optional gelatin, but the finished sauce will be lighter. That change is real, even when the result is delicious.
• •Keep the accompaniment restrained. Pommes château or simply buttered spinach will catch the sauce without competing with it. A mature red Bordeaux with supple tannin can carry the foie gras, Madeira, and truffle.
• •Whole foie gras is commonly served with a rosy center. For pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or otherwise vulnerable diners, use pasteurized foie gras or cook it to 165°F / 74°C; it will render more fat and become firmer.

Advance Preparation

• •The brown stock can be reduced to 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it, add the Madeira, and finish the reduction shortly before cooking the chicken.
• •The butter can be clarified a day ahead and refrigerated in a covered container. Melt it gently before sautéing.
• •The chicken can be trimmed and the foie gras portioned up to 4 hours ahead, but keep them covered in separate containers. The foie gras must remain thoroughly chilled until its brief turn in the pan.
• •Do not sauté the chicken or foie gras ahead. Separate hot holding was brigade scaffolding; at home it dries the chicken and melts the foie gras.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)