Poulet de Grains aux Morilles

Poulet de Grains aux Morilles (grain-fed chicken with morels) teaches poêler, to roast gently in butter under cover. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: do not moisten the chicken while it cooks. Stock in the pot would turn the method toward braising, while cream would make a different morel dish. Here the chicken's own juices, real butter, and the liquor released by the mushrooms form the sauce.

The original formula assumed a seasoned earthenware casserole, a saucier with veal stock never off the fire, and enough hands to baste, skim, and hold the bird. It did not rely on a salamander; its color came from butter and controlled heat. A heavy lidded cocotte, stovetop browning suited to a home oven, and one measured tablespoon of good veal gravy preserve that intent for one cook, one stove, one evening.

Poëlings (No. 250) supplies the en casserole grammar. The vegetable casing, pork-fat wrapping, and buttered paper of the fuller method are scaffolding for large pieces, and this en casserole branch deliberately leaves them behind. What must stay is the dish itself: chicken cooked in butter without added liquid, morels tossed in butter for only a moment, and the cooking completed under cover. The decisive step is the lid. Open it only long enough to baste and add the mushrooms, then close it at once; that perfume belongs in the sauce.