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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Fritôt ou Marinade de Volaille
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1669, Fritôt ou Marinade de Volaille, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Fritôt turns modest cooked chicken into a proper hot first course: lemon and herbs within, a fine golden shell outside, and tomato sauce waiting beside it for dipping.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Budget Friendly
Quick Meal
Weeknight
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Fritôt ou Marinade de Volaille (lightly battered fried chicken) teaches one clean lesson: because the poultry is already cooked, you are frying the batter, not cooking the meat. The coating must be thin, the fat decisively hot, and the stay in the pan brief. Done properly, the chicken tastes of lemon and fines herbes beneath a crisp, gilded veil.
The original assumed cooked poultry waiting after service, a dedicated frying station, a saucier with tomato sauce ready, and a linen napkin for draining and presentation. Your home equivalent is leftover poached or roast chicken, one deep saucepan, a thermometer, a wire rack, and a small bowl of warm tomato sauce. The five-quart production behind the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) is brigade scaffolding, so this four-person translation reaches for one teaspoon from a finished batch. The quarter-hour marinade, airy batter, and properly hot fat are the dish itself. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Poached chicken is preferable because its open texture drinks the oil, lemon, and herbs more readily; roast chicken still makes a handsome fritôt, though its firmer surface takes less seasoning. Fifteen minutes is enough. Before the first slice meets the pan, bring the fat fully to temperature.
Fritôt belongs to national French classical service, codified in Parisian grand kitchens and welcomed at bourgeois tables as a hot hors-d’œuvre made from cooked poultry. Across generations, fritôt and marinade de volaille became names for the same preparation, although the older working distinction gave cooked bird to the fritôt and raw, pre-marinated pieces to the marinade. The fried parsley, serving napkin, and separate tomato sauce reflect formal service, but the thrifty heart of the dish remains entirely domestic.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cooked chicken
Quantity
About 3 cups (710 ml / 400 g)
preferably poached, chilled and cut across the grain into 1 cm slices
mild olive oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
fines herbes
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g)
parsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon, finely chopped
Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
taken from a finished batch
plain flour
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 90 g)
ice-cold sparkling water
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g), plus a little more if needed
large egg white
Quantity
1
fine salt
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g)
divided
refined peanut or sunflower oil
Quantity
6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg), or enough for a depth of 7.5 cm
for frying
flat-leaf parsley sprigs
Quantity
About ½ cup loosely packed (120 ml / 15 g)
washed and completely dried
smooth tomato sauce
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 250 g)
warmed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cooked chickenpreferably poached, chilled and cut across the grain into 1 cm slices | About 3 cups (710 ml / 400 g) |
| mild olive oil | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| fines herbesparsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon, finely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) |
| Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)taken from a finished batch | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) |
| plain flour | ¾ cup (180 ml / 90 g) |
| ice-cold sparkling water | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g), plus a little more if needed |
| large egg white | 1 |
| fine saltdivided | ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g) |
| refined peanut or sunflower oilfor frying | 6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg), or enough for a depth of 7.5 cm |
| flat-leaf parsley sprigswashed and completely dried | About ½ cup loosely packed (120 ml / 15 g) |
| smooth tomato saucewarmed | 1 cup (240 ml / 250 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart heavy saucepan with a lid
- •Deep-fry thermometer
- •Long-handled wire spider or slotted spoon
- •Wire rack set over a rimmed sheet pan
- •Two medium mixing bowls
Instructions
- 1
Marinate the chicken
Arrange the chicken slices in a shallow bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, fines herbes, and the finished Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), turning gently so every surface is lightly dressed. Cover and leave for exactly 15 minutes. Poached meat absorbs this seasoning more readily than roast meat, but neither benefits from a long soak; too much lemon time makes the surface soft and prevents the batter from holding cleanly.
The Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) is reached for as a finished component. Do not reproduce its brigade-sized formula solely for this fritôt. - 2
Make the light batter
Whisk the flour and ½ teaspoon of the salt with the sparkling water only until no dry flour remains. Small lumps do no harm; vigorous mixing develops gluten and makes the crust leathery. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white to soft peaks, then fold it into the flour mixture. The batter should run from a spoon in a thin ribbon. If it sits like paste, loosen it with ice-cold water one teaspoon at a time; if it pours like milk, whisk in a teaspoon of flour. Ça se rattrape.
- 3
Ready the frying station
Set a wire rack over a sheet pan and warm the tomato sauce gently in a small saucepan. Pour the frying oil into a deep, heavy saucepan, leaving at least 8 cm of empty space above it, and heat to 180°C. The thermometer is the home cook's honest replacement for a brigade fry station. Keep the saucepan lid nearby for safety, but never cover hot oil during ordinary frying.
- 4
Fry the parsley
Make certain the parsley is completely dry, because water and hot fat are quarrelsome companions. Lower the sprigs into the oil with a long-handled spider and fry for 5 to 10 seconds, just until the leaves darken slightly and turn crisp. Stand back from the initial sputter. Lift the parsley to the rack, sprinkle it with a pinch of the remaining salt, and let the oil return to 180°C.
- 5
Batter and fry
Drain the chicken and blot its surface lightly, leaving the absorbed seasoning within the meat. Dip each slice into the batter and let the excess fall away in a thin stream. Fry three or four pieces at a time until the coating is well gilded, crisp, and the centre is thoroughly hot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Hold the oil between 175°C and 180°C. If the first batch turns pale and greasy, stop and reheat the oil before continuing; if the batter slips off, blot the remaining chicken more carefully and thicken the batter with a teaspoon of flour. Ça se rattrape.
- 6
Drain and serve
Lift each batch onto the wire rack and season immediately with the last of the salt. A rack replaces the old service napkin because it lets oil fall away without trapping moisture beneath the crust. Pile the fritôt loosely on a warm platter, tuck the fried parsley around it, and serve the tomato sauce separately so every piece remains crisp until it is dipped. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose poached or gently boiled chicken when you have it. Its more porous meat drinks the quarter-hour marinade beautifully; roast chicken is firmer and absorbs less, though it remains entirely suitable.
- •The Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) is potent with wine, vinegar, aromatics, and sugar. One teaspoon from a finished batch is enough here, preserving the lemon and fines herbes as the clear seasoning.
- •Cold batter and hot fat make the light shell. If the battered chicken sinks without a lively fizz, the oil is not ready, and frying early will only buy you a heavy crust.
- •Keep the tomato sauce in its own warm bowl. Pouring it over the fritôt before serving would soften the coating you have just taken such care to gild.
- •Serve this immediately with a dry, bright white wine such as a Mâcon-Villages, or simply bring it to the table while everyone is close enough to hear the crust under the first bite.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook and chill the chicken up to one day ahead, keeping it covered in the refrigerator. Slice it shortly before marinating so the cut faces remain moist enough to take up the seasoning.
- •The tomato sauce may be prepared ahead and reheated gently while the frying oil comes to temperature.
- •Mix the marinade ingredients and chop the fines herbes earlier in the day, but do not add the chicken until 15 minutes before frying.
- •Make the batter only when the oil is heating. Its trapped air fades as it stands, and this is one piece of last-minute work that belongs to the dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
435 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
18 g
Cholesterol
85 mg
Sodium
800 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
35 g
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