Poularde à la Neva

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart narrow stockpot with lid
• •Instant-read or probe thermometer
• •Kitchen twine and 2 small metal skewers
• •Large basin or sink and plenty of ice for rapid cooling
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
• •Shallow rimmed tray for setting aspic
• •Long serving platter, about 20 inches (50 cm)
• •Small bowl and smaller ramekin for the rice shell

Instructions

1. 1

   Temper the forcemeat

   Keep the prepared Chicken Forcemeat for Galantines, Pies and Terrines (No. 200), foie gras, truffle, bowl, and spoon thoroughly cold. Fry a teaspoon of the forcemeat, taste it, and correct the seasoning before folding in the foie gras and truffle dice with a cold spatula. Mix only until the dice are evenly distributed. If the fat begins to smear or the forcemeat turns loose and glossy, stop and chill it for twenty minutes; cold restores its structure.

   The foie gras should remain in visible dice. Overmixing drives its fat into the forcemeat and costs you the rich little pockets the finished stuffing should reveal.
2. 2

   Stuff and truss

   Pat the poularde dry and season its cavity with a measured pinch of the salt and white pepper. Spoon in the cold forcemeat without packing it hard, leaving a little room for expansion. Close the cavity with two small metal skewers and lace them with kitchen twine, then truss the legs and wings close to the body. Refrigerate the bird while the stock heats.

3. 3

   Poach at a tremble

   Reserve 2½ cups of the clearest chicken stock for the aspic. Heat the remaining stock in a narrow stockpot to about 180°F (82°C), then lower in the poularde breast-side up; the stock should cover it, so add more hot chicken stock if your pot demands it. Hold the liquid between 175°F and 185°F (79°C and 85°C), with only an occasional tremble at the surface, for 75 to 100 minutes. The poularde is ready when the center of the stuffing reaches 165°F (74°C) and the inner thigh reaches at least 170°F (77°C). A hard boil tightens the breast and can force the stuffing from the cavity, so lower the heat immediately if the stock grows lively.

4. 4

   Cool it safely

   Lift out 2 cups of poaching stock for the chaud-froid, strain it into a shallow container, and chill it separately. Set the covered stockpot holding the poularde into a sink or basin of ice water, stirring the stock gently around the bird until it falls below 70°F (21°C) within two hours. Refrigerate the poularde submerged in its stock until its center reaches 40°F (4°C) or colder, at least four hours and preferably overnight. Cooling in stock keeps the breast moist while the ice bath brings the temperature down promptly.

5. 5

   Set the pale aspic

   Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of gelatin over ½ cup of the cold water and leave it for five minutes. Warm the reserved 2½ cups of clear stock, taste it cold from a spoon, and season it slightly more firmly than you would a hot broth. Remove it from the heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, and strain it into a shallow rimmed tray to a depth of about ¼ inch. Chill until firm, at least three hours, then cut some into small diamonds for decorating the poularde and the rest into tidy triangles or lozenges. These border pieces are the recipe's croûtons, shaped pieces of aspic rather than bread.

6. 6

   Mold the rice

   Cook the rice with the 2¼ cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt at a gentle simmer until tender and the water is absorbed, about eighteen minutes. Rest it covered for ten minutes, then fold in 1 tablespoon of butter. While the rice is warm, press about two-thirds into a low oval cushion on the front half of the long serving platter. Butter a small bowl, pack in the remaining rice, and press a smaller buttered ramekin into its center to form a hollow shell. Chill both forms promptly. This simple molded shell replaces the brigade's carved rice or silver vessel, but keeps the original composition edible and intact.

7. 7

   Make the vegetable salad

   Blanch the carrot, turnip, green beans, and peas separately in salted water until each is tender but still distinct, about four minutes for the roots, three for the beans, and one for the peas. Cool them in ice water, drain, and dry them thoroughly on a clean towel. Mix the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and white pepper, then fold in the vegetables. If the salad loosens and weeps, do not bury it under more mayonnaise; spread the vegetables on a towel, dry them again, and rebind them with the dressing already in the bowl.

8. 8

   Build the chaud-froid

   Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of gelatin over the remaining ¼ cup cold water and leave it to bloom. Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook for two minutes without allowing it to color. This is a roux blanc, a white roux, and its restraint keeps the finished coating ivory. Gradually whisk in the 2 cups of strained poaching stock, simmer for ten minutes, then add the cream and simmer gently until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and nappant, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin, season with salt and white pepper, and strain. Cool it over ice, stirring constantly, until it reaches roughly 82°F to 86°F (28°C to 30°C) and falls from the spoon in a thick ribbon. If it gels in the bowl, set the bowl over barely warm water and stir until it flows again. Ça se rattrape.

9. 9

   Coat the cold bird

   Lift the thoroughly chilled poularde from its stock, remove the trussing twine and skewers, and dry every fold of skin carefully. Set it breast-side up on a rack over a tray. Spoon a thin coat of cool chaud-froid over the bird, allowing the excess to drain, then chill for fifteen minutes and apply a second thin coat wherever the skin shows through. If the sauce slides off, either the bird is damp or the sauce is too warm; dry the bare area, chill the sauce for ten minutes, and coat again. While the final coat is still tacky, arrange the small aspic diamonds sparingly across the breast and chill until set.

10. 10

    Compose the platter

    Set the coated poularde on the chilled rice cushion. Unmold the rice shell behind the bird, easing out the center ramekin first, and fill the hollow generously with the fine vegetable salad so it banks up behind the poularde. Border the platter with the pale aspic croûtons, alternating their points neatly without turning supper into geometry class. Refrigerate the completed platter until the coating and rice are firm, at least one hour.

11. 11

    Present and carve

    Bring the platter out only when the table is ready. Present the poularde whole, then use a sharp knife to cut cleanly through the set coating, remove the legs at their joints, and slice the breast. Spoon out the foie gras and truffle forcemeat, giving each plate poultry, stuffing, rice, vegetable salad, and a little aspic. Keep any portion not being served below 40°F (4°C). À table!

Chef Tips

• •Prepare the Chicken Forcemeat for Galantines, Pies and Terrines (No. 200) from its own entry and chill it before beginning. Its chicken, veal, pork, bacon, egg, seasoning, and brandy proportions belong to that preparation and should not be reformulated inside this one.
• •A true poularde is a young hen fattened for tenderness and a generous layer of fat. If your butcher cannot supply one, choose a plump young roasting chicken of the same weight; the breast will be slightly leaner, so the gentle poach matters even more.
• •Use raw foie gras, not pâté or mousse. Fresh black truffle is magnificent, but a good whole preserved truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer outside its season. Drain it well and expect a quieter perfume; truffle oil does not replace it.
• •The stock carries the whole cold dish. Choose a clear, gelatinous chicken stock with no dominant roasted color or aggressive herbs, and season only after tasting because the liquid concentrates slightly during poaching and sauce-making.
• •The correct chaud-froid temperature is visible before it is numerical: it should cover the spoon opaquely, flow in a broad ribbon, and cling to the cold bird without forming ridges. Two thin coats give a smoother result than one heavy coat.
• •Serve with a dry Champagne or a mature white Burgundy whose acidity can carry the foie gras and mayonnaise. Keep leftovers chilled and eat them within two days.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and chill the Chicken Forcemeat for Galantines, Pies and Terrines (No. 200) one day before assembling the stuffing.
• •Poach the poularde one day ahead and chill it overnight in its stock. Make the aspic and molded rice during the same session so both are firm when you begin the final assembly.
• •The vegetable dice may be blanched, dried, and refrigerated one day ahead; bind them with mayonnaise only after they are completely cold and dry.
• •The finished platter can be assembled up to four hours before serving. Refrigerate it under a loose cover that does not touch the chaud-froid or aspic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 980g)