Poularde au Champagne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart oval lidded cocotte
• •10 to 12 inch heavy skillet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve and clean damp linen
• •Large basin for an ice-water bath
• •Small metal poultry skewers and kitchen twine

Instructions

1. 1

   Truffle the foie

   Two days before serving, make narrow openings throughout the cold foie gras with the point of a paring knife and tuck in the truffle batons. Keep the openings small so the liver remains whole. Season it with ½ teaspoon of the salt and a small pinch of the white pepper.

2. 2

   Stiffen it in butter

   Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over very gentle heat. Add the foie gras and turn it carefully with two spoons for 20 minutes, basting often with the softly foaming butter. The surface should become firmer and faintly golden without the lobes collapsing. If a seam opens or the liver begins shedding fat quickly, lift it out at once, press the lobes gently together, wrap it snugly in parchment, and chill it until firm. Ça se rattrape. Drain, cool promptly, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

3. 3

   Stuff and truss

   The following day, dry the poularde thoroughly and season its cavity and skin with the remaining salt and white pepper. Slide the cold whole foie gras into the cavity without forcing it. Close the opening with small metal skewers and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. This replaces the old larding needle neatly and changes nothing that matters.

4. 4

   Poêle the poularde

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Cook the stuffed bird according to the home-scale Poëlings (No. 250), breast side up in a snug lidded cocotte. Keep the Champagne aside during the covered roasting stage; adding it early would braise the bird, while poëling must first let butter carry the flavor. Uncover for the final portion of cooking so the skin reaches a clear butter-gold. Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours in all, until both the innermost thigh and the center of the stuffing register 165°F (74°C). Lift the poularde carefully onto a rimmed tray.

5. 5

   Finish with Champagne

   Complete the finishing stage of Poëlings (No. 250), using the entire bottle of Champagne in place of its usual finishing stock and allowing the wine to remain in contact with the aromatic butter for the preparation's prescribed 10 minutes. Strain the liquor through dampened fine linen without pressing the vegetables. While it remains warm and fluid, skim the surface patiently with a broad spoon. This is the first degreasing, and haste here merely gives tomorrow more work.

6. 6

   Build the jelly

   Pour 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) of the cold chicken stock into a bowl and scatter 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 36 g) of gelatin evenly over it. Leave it for 10 minutes to bloom. Warm the remaining stock until it barely trembles, then whisk it into the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved. Do not boil it. Stir in the strained Champagne poëling liquor and taste for salt, remembering that cold quiets seasoning. Chill a spoonful on a cold saucer for 5 minutes. It should form a tender jelly that trembles but does not run. If it remains loose, bloom the reserved tablespoon (15 ml / 9 g) of gelatin in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of cold water, dissolve it into a ladleful of warm liquor, and stir that back into the whole. Ça se rattrape before the cocotte is filled.

7. 7

   Set in the cocotte

   Wash the cocotte thoroughly so no cooking fat remains, then return the poularde to it breast side up. Let both bird and jelly cool until barely warm, keeping the total time out of refrigeration under 2 hours. Pour the jelly slowly around and over the bird until it is covered. If the liquid falls short, move everything to a smaller snug cocotte rather than dilute the jelly with water. Set the cocotte in an ice-water bath and rotate it occasionally without stirring the jelly. Once thoroughly cool, cover and refrigerate overnight until completely set.

8. 8

   Degrease it twice

   The next day, draw a chilled spoon lightly across the set jelly and remove the firm fat cap without gouging the surface. Now spoon a thin wash of boiling water over the jelly, tilt the cocotte immediately to pour it away, and repeat two or three times as the original method directs. Blot away the last water droplets with the corner of a clean towel. If pale oil pearls remain, repeat the boiling-water rinse. Do not melt the whole jelly and begin again; ça se rattrape right at the surface.

   Examine the jelly in strong side light. Grease appears as an iridescent film or tiny silver beads, while properly cleaned jelly looks evenly pale and clear.
9. 9

   Serve very cold

   Keep the poularde cold until the moment of service and bring it to the table in the same cocotte in which the jelly set. Break the jelly cleanly around the bird with a serving spoon, then carve the pullet and divide the truffled foie gras among the four plates. Spoon some clear Champagne jelly beside each portion. No garnish is required. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Whole foie gras means a small intact raw liver, or two lobes still joined and able to hold their shape. Sliced foie gras, mousse, and pâté melt into the cavity and change the architecture of the dish.
• •Use a dry brut Champagne with clean acidity. Sweet wine makes the cold jelly cloying, and an aggressively yeasty bottle overwhelms the truffle. Cook with an honest bottle and open another of the same style at the table.
• •A snug cocotte matters. Too large a vessel demands so much jelly that the bird seems lost in it; a 5 to 6 quart oval cocotte should hold this poularde closely while leaving enough room for a complete covering.
• •The double degreasing is not decorative fuss. Warm skimming removes the bulk of the butter, while the cold spoon and boiling-water rinses remove the final film that would cloud the set.
• •Serve on cold plates. Warm porcelain softens the jelly immediately and turns a composed cold dish into a puddle before everyone has been served.

Advance Preparation

• •Two days before serving, stud the foie gras with truffle, stiffen it in butter for 20 minutes, and chill it separately. This preserves the source's long truffle rest without holding raw stuffed poultry for two days in a domestic refrigerator.
• •One day before serving, stuff and poêle the poularde, build the Champagne jelly, and chill the assembled cocotte overnight.
• •Complete the cold degreasing on the morning of service. Keep the covered cocotte refrigerated and remove it only when the table is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 890g)