Poularde à la Carmélite

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 8-quart close-fitting stockpot
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Heavy 2-quart saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Food processor
• •Fine drum sieve or sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
• •Pastry brush
• •2-quart deep oval serving dish
• •Large roasting pan or tray for crushed ice

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the aspic

   Begin with the Chicken Aspic (No. 159) completely finished and chilled. Its texture matters: it should hold a clean cut when cold yet melt readily on the tongue, never bounce like rubber. Keep it refrigerated while the poularde poaches; later, melt only the amount needed for each stage over the gentlest heat.

2. 2

   Poach the poularde

   Set the poularde breast-side up in a close-fitting stockpot with the onion, carrots, leek, celery, bouquet garni, poaching salt, and peppercorns. Add enough cold water to cover, then bring it slowly to 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C). Hold the liquid at a bare tremble for 45 to 55 minutes, turning the bird once, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). A boil tightens the breast and clouds the liquor; if the surface begins rolling, add a small ladle of cold water and lower the heat at once. Ça se rattrape.

   A close-fitting pot needs less water, so the poaching liquor emerges concentrated enough to become the foundation of the chaud-froid.
3. 3

   Raise the suprêmes

   Let the poularde rest in its liquor for 15 minutes, then lift it carefully onto a tray. Strain the liquor and reserve 3 cups (720 ml / 720 g). Raise the suprêmes, the breast fillets, in two whole pieces and remove their skin. Slice each breast on a shallow diagonal into collops about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, keeping the slices in order. Trim loose skin, fat, and dark meat from the carcass while preserving its breastbone, legs, and general outline; reserve the dark meat for another meal. Chill the collops and carcass promptly and separately.

4. 4

   Make the chaud-froid

   Melt the butter in a saucepan without coloring it, stir in the flour, and cook this white roux gently for 2 minutes. Whisk in the reserved hot poaching liquor a little at a time, then simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, skimming as needed, until the velouté coats a spoon without tasting floury. Add 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the cream and reduce gently until about 2½ cups (600 ml / 600 g) remain. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) melted Chicken Aspic (No. 159). Season with salt and white pepper, strain, and cool to 86 to 90°F (30 to 32°C). Test a spoonful on a cold plate: it should cover in an opaque, level coat. If it runs translucent, cool it briefly over ice; if it sets in ridges, warm the bowl over barely warm water. Do not force it. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep a small saucepan of barely warm water beside you. The coating window is brief, and gentle warmth returns a setting chaud-froid to its proper flow without thinning its flavor.
5. 5

   Coat and decorate

   Dry the chilled breast collops thoroughly and arrange them on a rack over a tray. Spoon the chaud-froid over each in one smooth pass, adding a second coat only where the poultry shows through. Place one restrained piece of truffle on each collop before the surface sets. Dry the trimmed carcass, set it breast-side up, and coat its outside evenly with the same sauce. Chill both for 20 to 30 minutes, until the coating is firm. Return any clean runoff to the bowl before it sets and rewarm it gently if needed.

6. 6

   Build the mousse

   Process the chilled crayfish meat until very fine, then work it through a fine sieve. Stir in 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the remaining fluid chaud-froid. Whip the remaining ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) cream to soft peaks and fold it into the crayfish mixture without knocking out its lightness. Taste it cold and correct the salt and white pepper. Pack the mousse into the body cavity, then mound it over the missing breasts to restore the poularde's plump outline. If the mousse slumps, chill it for 10 minutes and reshape it with a warm spoon. Nothing is lost.

7. 7

   Set and arrange

   Refrigerate the reconstructed poularde for 60 to 90 minutes, until the mousse holds firmly under a light fingertip. Lay the coated collops neatly over the set mousse in two even rows, keeping the truffle decoration visible. Place all 12 trimmed crayfish tails in a single precise row between them. Press only lightly; the arrangement must adhere without sinking into the mousse.

8. 8

   Glaze the surface

   Gently melt 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) Chicken Aspic (No. 159), then cool it until it has the body of light syrup while remaining fluid. Spoon or brush a thin coat over the entire reconstructed poularde, including the collops, truffle, and crayfish tails. If the aspic races off and pools, it is too warm; wait a few minutes. If the brush leaves ropes, warm it by a degree or two. Chill for 30 minutes, then add a second thin glaze where the first looks incomplete.

9. 9

   Half-immerse in aspic

   Transfer the set poularde to a close-fitting deep oval serving dish. Melt enough of the remaining Chicken Aspic (No. 159) to come halfway up the reconstructed bird, then cool it until barely fluid. Pour a thin anchoring layer around the base and chill it for 15 minutes so the bird cannot float. Add the remaining aspic slowly down the side of the dish until the poularde is half-immersed. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, until clear and firmly set.

10. 10

    Serve over ice

    Nest the serving dish in a larger tray filled with crushed ice, the honest home equivalent of the carved ice block. Bring it to the table while the aspic is cold enough to hold a clean edge. Serve each guest several suprême collops, crayfish mousse, three crayfish tails, and a spoonful of aspic; the trimmed carcass is the armature, so do not carve through its bones. Keep the dish over ice during service and return leftovers to the refrigerator within 2 hours. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A true poularde may require an order from the butcher. A plump young chicken of about 3½ pounds (1.6 kg) is the honest home equivalent; a large roasting bird makes coarse slices and an unwieldy centerpiece.
• •Buy plain cooked crayfish tails, fresh or frozen, with no garlic, brine, or herb seasoning. Drain and dry them thoroughly. Water left in the meat weakens the mousse and prevents the decorative tails from taking their aspic glaze.
• •Chicken Aspic (No. 159) must be delicate enough to melt readily in the mouth. This dish uses it as sauce binder, protective glaze, and serving jelly, so an excessively stiff batch overwhelms every other texture.
• •A small preserved black truffle is better than a tired fresh one out of season. Drain it well and cut modest pieces; the source asks for sober decoration, not a black carpet.
• •Serve with a dry white Burgundy or brut Champagne, plenty of plain bread, and a sharp green salad afterward. The poularde already has all the ceremony it needs.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and chill the Chicken Aspic (No. 159) one or two days before beginning this recipe. The timing here assumes that finished component is ready to use.
• •The poularde may be poached, trimmed, coated, filled, decorated, glazed, and set in its aspic the day before serving. Cover the dish only after its surface is fully set so wrapping cannot mark the glaze.
• •The crayfish tails can be shelled, trimmed, dried, and refrigerated a day ahead. Keep the mousse meat and decorative tails in separate covered containers.
• •Add the crushed-ice bed only when the dish goes to the table. The refrigerator handles the setting; the ice keeps the finished presentation properly cold during service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 800g)