Suprêmes de Volaille Verneuil

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch / 30 cm heavy skillet
• •2-quart / 2-liter wide saucepan
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Blender or food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the suprêmes

   Set the suprêmes in a shallow nonreactive dish with the fully cooled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), applying the one-hour marinating treatment prescribed by Suprêmes de Volaille Orly (No. 1609). Turn them once, then drain and discard the used marinade. Press every surface dry with clean towels and season with half the salt and white pepper. Wet chicken sheds its coating, so be severe here; if the surface still glistens, leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for five minutes before proceeding.

   One hour is enough. A longer stay in an acidic marinade begins to tighten the outside of a tender chicken breast.
2. 2

   Reduce the stock

   If using gelatin, bloom it in 1 tablespoon of the cold stock. Pour the remaining stock into a wide saucepan and reduce it briskly to 1 cup (240 ml), about 25 to 35 minutes. Whisk in the bloomed gelatin, if needed, and hold the reduction off the heat. This concentrated foundation is the home answer to the permanent stockpot and prepared meat glaze. It should taste deep and lightly coat a spoon, not become salty syrup; if the salt runs ahead of the body, dilute it with unsalted stock and reduce more gently.

3. 3

   Make artichoke purée

   Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream. Put the drained artichoke hearts in a saucepan with the remaining cream, 3 tablespoons of the butter, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of white pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until little free liquid remains. Blend to a smooth, dense purée and pass it through a fine sieve if the hearts were fibrous. Keep it covered and warm, without adding the truffle yet.

4. 4

   Paner à l’anglaise

   Arrange the flour, Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and breadcrumbs in three shallow dishes. Coat each dry suprême lightly in flour and shake off the excess, immerse it completely in the Anglaise, then press it into the breadcrumbs until every surface wears a close, even coat. Set the pieces on a wire rack for 10 minutes so the coating settles. If a bare patch appears, dab it with a little Anglaise and press on fresh crumbs. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep one hand for flour and crumbs and the other for Anglaise. This is not ceremony, only the difference between four neat suprêmes and two breaded fists.
5. 5

   Fry in clarified butter

   Heat half the clarified butter in a heavy 12-inch / 30 cm skillet to about 330°F / 165°C. A pinch of breadcrumbs should sizzle at once and turn gold in about 20 seconds. Fry two suprêmes at a time without crowding, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the crust is deep butter-gold and the center reaches 165°F / 74°C. Drain on a wire rack and repeat with clean clarified butter, straining out dark crumbs between batches. If the crust colors before the center is ready, lower the heat and turn the chicken every minute; finish it in a 350°F / 180°C oven if necessary. The crust can be rescued, scorched crumbs cannot.

   Clarified butter is the dish, not brigade scaffolding. Whole butter burns before the chicken cooks, while neutral oil loses the flavor the recipe was built to carry.
6. 6

   Mount Sauce Colbert

   Return the stock reduction to a bare simmer, then remove it from the heat. Whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons of cold butter, one small piece at a time, until Sauce Colbert is glossy and nappant, meaning it coats the back of a spoon in a thin, even veil. Stir in the lemon juice, tarragon, parsley, cayenne, and enough of the remaining salt and white pepper to bring it into focus. Do not boil it after the butter goes in. If oily beads appear at the edge, whisk in a teaspoon of cold stock away from the heat. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Finish truffled purée

   Rewarm the artichoke purée over the gentlest heat and fold in the minced truffle and optional truffle juice. If it stands too stiffly, loosen it with the reserved cream, a spoonful at a time; if it is loose, reduce it before the truffle goes in so its perfume is not cooked away. Taste once more for salt. The purée should hold a soft mound while remaining supple enough for the serving spoon.

8. 8

   Form the crown

   Arrange the four suprêmes in a loose crown on a warmed oval platter, their narrow ends pointing inward. Spoon the Sauce Colbert over them at the last possible moment, coating the tops while leaving the golden edges visible. Carry the truffled artichoke purée separately in a warmed bowl, exactly as the entry directs. Sauce over crumb has no waiting time. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose four breasts close to the same weight and even the thick ends gently. Technique first, always: matched thickness matters more here than an expensive label because every piece must finish before its crumb darkens.
• •Clarify ordinary unsalted butter yourself or buy a clean-tasting butter ghee. Butter, not margarine. The removed milk solids let the fat reach frying heat without burning, while the chicken still tastes unmistakably of butter.
• •Unseasoned frozen artichoke hearts are the honest home equivalent to a station cook turning fresh bottoms for an entire service. Avoid marinated jarred hearts; vinegar and garlic pull the purée away from truffle and Sauce Colbert.
• •A small preserved whole black truffle is preferable to truffle-flavored oil because it supplies the minced flesh and gentle perfume the entry specifies. If no sound truffle can be found, wait for one rather than pretending the substitution is invisible.
• •Pour a restrained white Burgundy or another full, dry Chardonnay. It has enough body for the clarified butter and truffle, while its acidity keeps pace with the lemon and tarragon in Sauce Colbert.

Advance Preparation

• •The clean, unused Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) may be chilled in advance. Measure out the portion needed before raw chicken enters it, freeze any remaining clean marinade, and discard the portion that touched the poultry.
• •The stock may be reduced to 1 cup (240 ml) up to two days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it gently, then mount Sauce Colbert with cold butter only when the chicken is nearly ready.
• •The artichoke purée can be made one day ahead without the truffle. Reheat it gently with a spoonful of cream, then fold in the minced truffle immediately before serving.
• •The suprêmes may be breaded 30 minutes ahead and held uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator. Longer holding draws moisture into the crumbs and costs the crust its clean bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 405g)