Chef Juliette
Abatis aux Navets
Glazed turnips, pearl onions, and tender poultry giblets settle into a pale, glossy sauce, with crisp-edged salt pork lending depth: a thrifty braise whose whole success rests on cooking the flour first.
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Capilotade de Volaille
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1659, Capilotade de Volaille, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Yesterday's roast becomes Capilotade de Volaille: thin, tender slices of poultry and mushrooms held in glossy Sauce Italienne, warmed with such restraint that the pan never gives you a single bubble.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Budget Friendly
15 min
Active Time
15 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Capilotade de Volaille (cold fowl, thinly sliced and warmed in Sauce Italienne) teaches one discipline above all: once the meat enters the pan, the sauce must not boil. The poultry is already cooked. A bubble doesn't make it richer or safer; it tightens the fibres, and yesterday's roast goes to string.
The original entry assumed a saucier, a finished Sauce Italienne beside a stockpot never off the fire, cooked mushrooms ready for service, and enough poultry remains to feed a dining room. At home, begin with the finished sauce, scale the dish to four portions, and use a broad skillet plus an instant-read thermometer. A warmed deep bowl replaces the service timbale, and a salamander has no place here because nothing is gratinéed. The separate sauce station is brigade scaffolding and can go; Sauce Italienne, thin slicing, and bubble-free warming are the dish and must stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The reward is modest and splendid: yielding slices of poultry, earthy mushrooms, and a sauce that clings in a polished coat rather than drowning the meat. When the poultry goes in, lower the heat until the surface is perfectly still. That pause decides the capilotade.
Capilotade de volaille belongs to the cuisine bourgeoise practiced at Parisian tables and organized by classical kitchens, rather than to one French province. Capilotade names a family of preparations in which already-cooked meat is sliced or cut into pieces and returned to the table under a composed sauce, turning household thrift into a proper entrée. Sauce Italienne gives this version its classical French label and method; despite the name, the finished dish is not an Italian regional preparation.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cold cooked fowl
Quantity
4 cups loosely packed (960 ml / 500 g)
skin and bones removed, cut into thin slices
prepared Sauce Italienne
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 500 g)
cooked button mushrooms
Quantity
1 1/2 cups (360 ml / 200 g)
sliced and well drained
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g)
finely chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cold cooked fowlskin and bones removed, cut into thin slices | 4 cups loosely packed (960 ml / 500 g) |
| prepared Sauce Italienne | 2 cups (480 ml / 500 g) |
| cooked button mushroomssliced and well drained | 1 1/2 cups (360 ml / 200 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) sauté pan
- •Flexible heatproof spatula
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Warmed 1 1/2-quart (1.5 L) deep serving bowl or timbale
Instructions
- 1
Slice the cold fowl
Remove every bone, scrap of cartilage, and loose piece of skin from the cold fowl. Cut breast meat across the grain into broad slices about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick; separate thigh meat into similarly thin pieces without shredding it. Cold meat cuts cleanly, while warm leftovers tear. Reserve 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the Sauce Italienne for controlling the final consistency.
Use poultry that was chilled within two hours of cooking and has remained refrigerated for no more than three to four days. This dish rescues good remains, not doubtful ones. - 2
Warm sauce and mushrooms
Combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups (420 ml / 440 g) Sauce Italienne with the cooked sliced mushrooms in a broad 12-inch (30 cm) sauté pan. Warm over medium-low heat, folding occasionally, until the mushrooms are hot and the sauce loosens into a glossy coating consistency, about 4 minutes. Keep it between 180 and 185°F (82 and 85°C), with the surface quivering but never boiling.
- 3
Warm without boiling
Turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the surface become still. Add the sliced fowl in two batches, turning each gently through the Sauce Italienne before adding the next. Warm uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes, folding rather than stirring, until the thickest pieces reach 165°F (74°C). Not one bubble. If a bubble appears, pull the pan off the heat immediately and fold in the reserved cool sauce to arrest the cooking. Ça se rattrape, provided you catch it promptly.
Don't cover the pan. A lid traps heat and lets the sauce overshoot while your back is turned, precisely how tender poultry becomes fibrous. - 4
Set the consistency
Remove the pan from the heat. If you haven't used the reserved Sauce Italienne to cool an eager pan, fold it in now until the sauce coats every slice generously. If the sauce is too loose, lift the poultry and mushrooms into the warmed serving bowl, thicken the sauce alone over gentle heat, then pour it back over them. Never reduce sauce around already-cooked fowl; protecting the meat is the whole grammar of the dish.
- 5
Dish and finish
Transfer the capilotade to a warmed timbale or deep serving bowl, keeping the slices broad and visible rather than packing them down. Spoon the remaining Sauce Italienne and mushrooms over the top, then sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Carry it straight to the table while the sauce still gleams. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The recipe clock begins with prepared Sauce Italienne, exactly as the source entry does. That finished sauce is a separate preparation, not a jar of gravy and not a place for improvising with cream.
- •Roast or poached chicken both work, and a mixture of pale and dark meat is welcome. Slice the breast across the grain and handle thigh meat gently; the capilotade should show distinct pieces, not resemble a hash.
- •Use cooked, well-drained mushrooms. Raw mushrooms release water into the Sauce Italienne and thin the foundation the dish depends upon.
- •Serve with pommes vapeur or plain rice, something quiet enough to carry the sauce. A dry white wine or a light red suits the mushrooms without weighing down a quick supper.
- •The finished capilotade is best served immediately. If there are remains, chill them within two hours and reheat only once to 165°F (74°C), using the same bubble-free method.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Sauce Italienne and cooked sliced mushrooms up to two days ahead, then refrigerate them separately in covered containers.
- •The cold fowl can be boned and sliced several hours before supper. Keep it tightly covered and refrigerated until the sauce is hot enough to receive it.
- •Do not assemble the capilotade ahead for reheating later. Repeated warming is precisely what turns the thin poultry slices fibrous.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 300g)
Calories
330 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
115 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
41 g
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