Poulets à l’Écarlate

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •8-quart (7.5 L) stockpot or oval Dutch oven
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Cheesecloth, small metal skewers, and kitchen twine
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
• •13 by 9 inch (33 by 23 cm) shallow pan
• •Soft pastry brush
• •14 inch (36 cm) chilled oval platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the aspic

   Warm the aspic only until it becomes liquid. Pour 3 cups into a 13 by 9 inch (33 by 23 cm) shallow pan, making an even layer about ⅜ inch (1 cm) deep, and refrigerate until firmly set. These will become croûtons of jelly, the small cut aspic shapes used to border the finished dish, not fried bread. Reserve the remaining cup for glazing; if it sets before you need it, loosen it gently over warm water without boiling.

2. 2

   Make the mousseline

   Chill the food processor bowl and blade for 15 minutes. Process the diced chicken breast with the salt, white pepper, and egg white until the paste becomes smooth and tacky. With the blade running, add all but 2 tablespoons of the cold cream in a thin stream, then add the remainder once the mixture looks satiny. This is mousseline de volaille, a fine chicken forcemeat, and the cold processor is the home equivalent of the mortar and tamis once handled by separate hands. If the mixture looks greasy or loose, stop processing and chill it over ice for 10 minutes, then pulse in the held-back cream one spoonful at a time. Poach a teaspoon of mousseline in a little stock until cooked through, taste, and correct the seasoning.

3. 3

   Stuff the chickens

   Check the chickens carefully for bone fragments, then blot the cavities dry. Divide the mousseline between them, pressing it into the breast cavities without leaving air pockets, but leaving a little room for the filling to expand. Draw the cavity openings together with small metal skewers and kitchen twine. Shape each bird into a compact, natural oval, tuck the wings close, and wrap it snugly in damp cheesecloth. The cloth replaces the brigade cook’s elaborate sewing and keeps the chickens upright and handsome once cold.

4. 4

   Poach without boiling

   Heat the chicken stock in a deep pot to 176°F (80°C), then lower in the wrapped chickens. Use a small heatproof plate to keep them submerged if they float. Hold the liquid between 172°F and 180°F (78°C and 82°C), with movement below the surface but no rolling bubbles, for 45 to 55 minutes. Turn the birds once and cook until the centre of the stuffing reaches 165°F (74°C). If the stock begins to boil, lift the pot from the burner and add a ladleful of cold stock before returning it to gentler heat; the birds remain tender if you correct the temperature promptly.

5. 5

   Chill them completely

   Lift the chickens onto a wire rack and let them drain for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth, blot every fold of skin dry, and refrigerate the birds uncovered on the rack until the centres are thoroughly cold, at least 3 hours. Do not coat a tepid or damp bird. Warmth melts the sauce and moisture sends it sliding, while a cold, dry surface catches the coating immediately.

6. 6

   Coat with chaud-froid

   Warm the white chaud-froid gently over a bowl of warm water until it flows like thick cream, then stir it over ice until it falls from the spoon in a broad ribbon. Set the cold chickens on a rack over a clean tray and ladle the sauce over them from crown to tail, letting the excess drain cleanly. Chill for 15 minutes and apply a second thin coat wherever the skin shows through. If the chaud-froid slides off in bare streaks, don’t keep pouring. Ça se rattrape: collect the drips, blot and rechill the bird, cool the sauce until it holds its ribbon, then coat again.

7. 7

   Decorate and glaze

   While the final chaud-froid coat is still slightly tacky, arrange the thin truffle pieces neatly over the breasts. Bring the reserved aspic to a cool, syrupy liquid and brush a fine layer over each chicken. Chill until set, then brush on a second layer for an even gloss. Glaze the 2 whole truffles in the same way. If the aspic begins setting in the bowl or brush, warm it briefly over water; forcing thick jelly across the surface will scar the white coating.

8. 8

   Build the écarlate

   Cut the firm sheet of aspic into small, even diamonds or triangles for the croûtons. On a thoroughly chilled oval platter, stand the chickens on their broad tail ends with their breasts facing outward and their shoulders leaning together. Cut the base of the cold tongue flat and stand it between them with its tip pointing upward, then place one glazed whole truffle on either side. A spoonful of softly set aspic beneath each piece acts as an edible anchor; chill the arrangement for 20 minutes if anything shifts. Border the platter with the croûtons and serve the mayonnaise sauce separately in a saucière. At the table, halve each chicken, slice the tongue thinly, and give every plate a little truffle and mayonnaise. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher to remove each chicken’s breast cage through the body cavity while leaving the skin, legs, and wings intact. This is the useful modern request. Fully deboning the birds would add work and make the upright presentation less stable.
• •Corned veal tongue is the modern market name closest to salted calf’s tongue. Order it cooked if possible, then peel it while warm and chill it under light pressure so it stands cleanly. A full beef tongue is too large for this four-person arrangement.
• •The white chaud-froid must be a true poultry velouté coating enriched with cream and set lightly with gelatin, its roux made with real butter. Mayonnaise or cream cheese cannot take its place; the opaque sauce that sets against cold poultry is one of the steps that is the dish.
• •Preserved whole black truffles are the honest classical pantry answer when fresh truffles are out of season. Drain them well and avoid truffle oil, which supplies perfume without the firm black pieces this arrangement requires.
• •Serve the platter directly from the refrigerator, but give it 10 minutes before carving so the chicken loses its deepest chill. Keep the mayonnaise cold and do not leave the assembled dish at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• •Pour brut Champagne or a dry white Burgundy. Both have enough freshness for the mayonnaise and enough breadth for chicken, tongue, and truffle without crowding the cold sauces.

Advance Preparation

• •The salted calf’s tongue may be cooked, peeled, and chilled up to 3 days ahead. Keep it tightly covered once cold so its surface does not dry.
• •Prepare the aspic jelly and white chaud-froid sauce a day ahead. Refrigerate them separately, then warm each only enough to regain the consistency required for setting and glazing.
• •Stuff and poach the chickens a day ahead. Chill them uncovered until cold and dry, then cover loosely once their surfaces have stopped shedding moisture.
• •The complete platter may be assembled up to 6 hours before serving. Refrigerate it uncovered until the final glaze is firm, then tent it loosely without touching the chickens or aspic border.
• •Prepare the mayonnaise sauce no more than a day ahead and keep it below 40°F (4°C) until it reaches the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 980g)