Poularde Rose Marie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart narrow stockpot
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •Small offset spatula
• •Wire rack and rimmed tray
• •Large oval serving platter
• •Shallow tray for setting aspic
• •Soft pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the poularde

   Put the poularde in a narrow stockpot with the chicken stock, onion, carrot, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. The liquid should cover the bird; add a little water only if the pot demands it. Bring the stock slowly to 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), then hold it there without boiling. Poach for 50 to 60 minutes, turning the bird once, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). Hard boiling tightens the breast and clouds the stock, while the quiet poach keeps both useful.

2. 2

   Reduce and chill

   Lift the poularde carefully, drain it, and leave it for 20 minutes before refrigerating it uncovered until cold, about 1½ hours. Strain the poaching liquor through a fine sieve, discard the aromatics, and boil the liquid down to 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.2 kg). This reduction is the home equivalent of the stockpot that never left the brigade stove: one concentrated liquor will carry the chaud-froid and the chicken jelly. Taste before adding salt, because reduction magnifies it.

3. 3

   Build the rice cushion

   Combine the rice, water, and ¼ teaspoon of the remaining salt in a small saucepan. Cover and cook gently until the grains are very soft and cling together, about 20 minutes. While warm, press the rice into a low oval cushion at the centre of a large cold platter, no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) high, then refrigerate it. This rice is literal scaffolding rather than a side dish; keep it low so it supports the poularde without announcing itself.

4. 4

   Set the chicken jelly

   Measure 2½ cups (600 ml / 600 g) of cold reduced stock. Sprinkle the gelatin for the chicken jelly over ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of it and leave it for 5 minutes. Heat the remaining 2 cups just until quivering, remove it from the heat, and stir in the softened gelatin until completely dissolved. Strain again. Pour 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) into a shallow tray to make a layer about ⅜ inch (1 cm) deep, and reserve the rest for glazing. Chill both until set. A brigade would clarify this jelly until it resembled glass; careful straining is the honest home equivalent because the glaze is thin and the border small.

5. 5

   Make the chaud-froid

   Sprinkle the gelatin for the chaud-froid over 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) taken from 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) of cold reduced stock. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this white roux gently for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Whisk in the remaining stock a little at a time, then simmer for 12 minutes, whisking often. Add the ¾ cup of cream and simmer until the sauce nappes the back of a spoon in a smooth ivory coat, about 8 minutes. Remove it from the heat, stir in the softened gelatin and white pepper, then strain. You should have about 2 cups. Measure ½ cup for the mousse and ¾ cup for coating the collops; stir the paprika into the remaining ¾ cup until the shade is a tender rose, never brick-red. Cover the surfaces directly and refrigerate. If the sauce has tiny lumps, don't fight them with the whisk. Strain it while warm, and it is mended.

6. 6

   Work the ham mousse

   Process the ham with the reserved ½ cup of chaud-froid until the mixture is as smooth as the machine can make it, scraping the bowl repeatedly. Press it through a fine sieve; this is work, but the smooth surface is the point of the mousse, a light set forcemeat. Whip the cold cream only to soft folds and fold it through the ham mixture without knocking out its body. Taste and add up to ¼ teaspoon of the remaining salt if needed. Spoon a small mound of mousse into each prepared Barquette (No. 314), smoothing the tops into neat ovals, and reserve the rest for the poularde. Chill the filled barquettes immediately.

7. 7

   Shape the cold bird

   When the poularde is completely cold, remove its breast skin and lift off the two suprêmes, the breast fillets, keeping them whole. Disjoint the legs and reserve their meat for another meal, but leave the wings attached to the carcass as the source directs. Trim loose skin and small bones so the body sits steadily, then blot it very dry. Pack the reserved ham mousse over the breast cavity and around the trimmed body, rebuilding the poularde's low rounded shape while leaving the wings visible. Smooth the surface with a small offset spatula dipped in cold water. Chill for at least 2 hours, until a fingertip leaves no dent. If the mousse softens and slips while shaping, stop and chill both bowl and bird for 15 minutes before continuing. Warm mousse cannot be persuaded by argument.

8. 8

   Coat the collops

   Slice each suprême diagonally into three even collops. Set them on a rack over a tray and blot their surfaces dry. Warm the reserved white chaud-froid over barely warm water only until fluid, then cool it to 82 to 86°F (28 to 30°C), when it pours in a thick ribbon. Spoon it over each collop in one complete coat and refrigerate for 20 minutes. If the sauce runs bare at the edges, either the chicken is damp or the coating is too warm. Scrape it back, blot and rechill the collops, cool the sauce until it thickens slightly, and coat again.

9. 9

   Lay on the rose

   Bring the paprika chaud-froid to the same cool, fluid consistency. Set the firm mousse-covered poularde on a rack and pour the sauce steadily along its back, guiding it down the sides with the offset spatula without repeatedly touching the surface. Preserve the rounded body and the outline of the wings; the source allows decoration according to fancy, and a clean rose coat needs no further fuss. Chill until set. If the coating slumps or reveals patches, scrape it back into the bowl, refrigerate the bird for another 20 minutes, and stir the sauce over ice until it gains body. Ça se rattrape.

10. 10

    Glaze and assemble

    Melt the reserved glazing jelly over barely warm water, then cool it until fluid but no longer warm against your wrist. Brush a thin coat over the rose poularde, the white collops, and the filled barquettes, and chill for 15 minutes. Lift the poularde onto its rice cushion with two broad spatulas. Arrange the six barquettes evenly around it, place one collop on each, and lay a fine truffle slice on every collop. Cut the jelly in the shallow tray into diamonds or small triangles to make the aspic croûtons, then border the platter with them. If the glaze drags, warm it by a degree or two; if it softens the chaud-froid, stop and chill both before continuing.

11. 11

    Serve it cold

    Refrigerate the completed platter for at least 1 hour so every layer settles together. Bring it out 15 minutes before serving, cold but not numbing. Give each guest a truffled collop and barquette, then spoon the ham mousse from the poularde around the supporting carcass. The rice cushion may remain on the platter; it has done its work. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a mild cooked ham with a clean pink colour and restrained smoke. A dark, aggressively cured ham muddies both the mousse and the paprika's tender rose shade.
• •Temperature decides the coating. The mousse must be firm, the surface dry, and the chaud-froid cool enough to pour in a thick ribbon. A digital thermometer removes the guesswork, but the spoon tells the same truth: the sauce should cloak it without running clear at the edges.
• •Preserved truffle is the classical pantry's sensible answer here. Drain it and blot it well before it meets the white collops, since wet truffle stains the coating before the jelly can seal it.
• •The source leaves decoration to the cook's fancy. Keep the rose surface smooth, the wings legible, and the aspic border orderly. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Pour a dry sparkling wine or a mineral white with enough acidity for the ham mousse and cream. Serve the wine properly cold and the poularde only lightly chilled.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the poularde, reduce its liquor, and set the chicken jelly a day ahead. Keep the bird and stock covered separately in the refrigerator once fully cold.
• •The ham mousse and both chaud-froid sauces can be prepared the evening before assembly. Warm the set sauces very gently over barely warm water, then cool them back to coating consistency before use.
• •The completed platter may be held under a loose cover in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Keep the cover from touching the jelly glaze, and add the aspic croûtons after any cover is removed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 820g)