Poulet de Grains aux Morilles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-quart (4.7-liter) lidded cocotte or Dutch oven
• •10-inch (25-cm) skillet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Tongs and a shallow spoon for basting and skimming

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the morels

   Trim the dirty ends from the morel stems. Leave small mushrooms whole and halve large ones lengthwise so you can inspect their hollow centers. Swish them briefly in a large bowl of cold water, lift them out rather than pouring the gritty water over them, and repeat with fresh water until no sand remains. Spread them on towels and dry them thoroughly. Morels hold grit with remarkable determination, but they also hold washing water; wet mushrooms dilute the butter and surrender their perfume before they reach the chicken.

   Fresh morels must be cooked thoroughly and never eaten raw. Their brief toss in the skillet is only the beginning; the covered cooking around the chicken completes the job.
2. 2

   Brown in butter

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Season the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper. Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter in a snug, heavy cocotte over medium heat. When the foam subsides, lay in the chicken and brown it patiently on the breast, back, and both sides, turning with tongs until the skin is evenly golden. Keep the heat moderate because butter may brown but must not burn. If the milk solids turn black or smell acrid, lift out the bird and wipe the pot clean, then continue with unburnt butter from the measured amount. Ça se rattrape. Burnt butter does not.

   A pale bird cannot give the sauce enough depth. Take the color now, before the lid goes on, but stop at burnished gold rather than dark mahogany.
3. 3

   Poël under cover

   Set the chicken breast-side up and spoon the hot butter over it. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) more butter if the bottom of the cocotte looks bare, then cover tightly. This is the en casserole branch of Poëlings (No. 250): butter and the bird's own juices, with no stock, wine, or water during cooking. Transfer the cocotte to the oven for 30 minutes. Baste once, working quickly, and replace the lid at once. If the pot looks dry, add a small piece of the measured butter, never a splash of liquid; moistening would change the method and flatten the roasting flavor.

4. 4

   Add the morels

   Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the dry morels and toss them for 2 minutes, just until they glisten and begin to relax. They should not fry crisp or take heavy color. Open the cocotte, arrange the morels and their butter around the chicken, baste the bird once, and cover immediately. Return it to the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the thickest part of the breast reaches 165°F (74°C) and the inner thigh reaches about 175°F (80°C), without the thermometer touching bone.

   Keep the cocotte covered during this final cooking. The enclosed butter carries the morels' aroma into the chicken juices, and every unnecessary inspection sends part of it into the kitchen instead.
5. 5

   Rest the chicken

   Lift the chicken onto a warm platter or carving board, cover it loosely, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Leave the morels and cooking juices in the covered cocotte. The rest lets the juices settle inside the meat while the mushrooms remain protected in their butter-scented environment. Pour any juices that collect beneath the chicken back into the cocotte before finishing the gravy.

6. 6

   Finish the gravy

   Set the cocotte over medium-low heat and add the 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) concentrated veal gravy. Stir gently through the morels and scrape up the golden fond, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes so the gravy absorbs the aromas carried by the butter. Only now spoon off any excessive clear fat, leaving enough for a proud butter sheen. If the sauce becomes sticky or too salty, loosen it with the reserved resting juices, one spoonful at a time. If it remains watery, lift out the morels and reduce the liquid briefly before returning them. Ça se rattrape. Set the chicken back in the cocotte, surround it generously with the morels, and hold it warm without boiling until it reaches the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy firm, dry morels with intact honeycombed caps and a clean woodland scent. Avoid specimens that are slimy, heavily bruised, or carrying enough soil to plant a garden. Technique first, always, but a decaying mushroom cannot be disciplined back into spring.
• •If fresh morels are out of season, use 1 ounce (30 g) dried morels. Cover them with warm water for 20 minutes, lift them away from the grit, rinse briefly, and squeeze them dry before the butter toss. Save the carefully filtered soaking liquor for another sauce; adding it here would turn poëling toward braising.
• •The veal gravy is a concentrated finishing seasoning, not a ladleful of sauce. Choose a good unsalted or lightly salted refrigerated veal gravy with a clean roasted flavor. Taste it before it enters the cocotte, because a harsh, salty spoonful only becomes harsher as it reduces.
• •Choose a compact chicken around 3½ lb (1.6 kg). A large roasting bird takes too long, forcing the morels to surrender their texture while the breast waits for the thighs. Careful cooking turns a modest chicken into something splendid.
• •Pour a white Jura Chardonnay or a mature white Burgundy. Both have enough breadth for the butter and veal juices without covering the morels, which have waited all spring for their turn to speak.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat the carved chicken, morels, and sauce together under cover at 325°F (160°C), loosening the gravy with a spoonful of water if necessary, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C).

Advance Preparation

• •Season the chicken up to 12 hours ahead and refrigerate it uncovered on a tray. The dry surface browns more readily; remove the bird from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking.
• •Clean the morels up to 4 hours ahead, dry them thoroughly, and refrigerate them in a paper-lined container. Do not seal them while damp.
• •Measure the butter and veal gravy before guests arrive. Once the chicken begins browning, the recipe needs attention rather than complicated mise en place.
• •Do not roast the complete dish a day ahead. Its great pleasure is the fragrance released when the lid opens at the table. Plan to lift the chicken about 20 minutes before serving, which leaves exactly enough time for resting and finishing the gravy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)