Ailerons de Poulet Lady Wilmer

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Instant-read thermometer
• •5-quart (4.7 L) snug poaching pot
• •Fine-mesh sieve and damp muslin or a clean lint-free cloth
• •Food processor
• •3-cup (710 ml), approximately 6-inch (15 cm) hemispherical mold
• •Pastry brush and wire rack set over a tray
• •Oval chilled serving platter
• •Short plain stainless-steel cocktail pick to serve as the hatelet

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the classical cuts

   Ask the butcher to leave the first wing joint attached to each breast, scrape the exposed wing bones clean, and give you four neat suprêmes. Remove the skin for an even ivory surface. Keep one leg quarter from each chicken for the mousse, matching the source's proportion of one leg per bird; wrap and refrigerate the other two legs and the carcasses for another meal. Jointing before poaching is the sole procedural change. It lets each cut stop cooking when it should instead of asking the delicate breast and firm leg to obey one clock.

   If the butcher does not recognize wing-on suprême, ask for an airline chicken breast with the first wing bone attached. The word carries the technique, but the second description will get the cut onto your board.
2. 2

   Poach each cut gently

   Pour the stock into a snug 5-quart pot and bring it to 180°F to 185°F (82°C to 85°C), a surface that barely stirs. Add the two leg quarters and poach for 15 minutes, then lower in the four suprêmes. Hold the liquid in the same range, never at a rolling boil, until the thickest part of each breast reaches 160°F to 162°F (71°C to 72°C), about 12 to 18 minutes. Lift each suprême out as it reaches temperature, cover it for 5 minutes, and confirm that it reaches 165°F (74°C); if it does not, return it to the hot liquid briefly. Continue poaching the legs until they reach at least 175°F (79°C) and yield easily at the joint. Arrange everything in one layer on a rack, cool for no more than 20 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered until thoroughly cold.

   A hard boil tightens the breast and clouds the poaching liquor. Gentle movement cooks evenly and leaves you a cleaner foundation for the gelée.
3. 3

   Build and test gelée

   Strain the poaching liquor through a damp fine cloth into a clean saucepan, bring it to a full boil, and reduce it to 3 cups (720 ml / about 720 g), skimming away fat and froth. Sprinkle 3 envelopes of gelatin over the cold water and leave them for 5 minutes to bloom. Take the reduced liquor off the heat, whisk in the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, then season with half the salt and a small pinch of white pepper. Spoon a little onto a chilled saucer and refrigerate it for 5 minutes. It should set into a tender, clear jelly that holds when nudged. If it remains loose, rewarm 1 cup of gelée and dissolve in reserved gelatin, bloomed first with a spoonful of cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time; if it is rubbery, rewarm it and add stock by the tablespoon. Ça se rattrape.

   Do not boil the gelée after adding gelatin. Boiling weakens its setting power and works against the clear gloss this dish needs.
4. 4

   Glaze the suprêmes

   Measure ¾ cup (180 ml / about 180 g) of warm liquid gelée for the mousse and keep it fluid. Set the remaining gelée over a bowl of ice water, stirring until it reaches the consistency of raw egg white. Trim the cold suprêmes into matching shapes, set them on a rack over a tray, and brush each with a thin coat of gelée. Chill for 5 minutes, then repeat twice until the meat gleams beneath a smooth clear skin. If the gelée runs straight off, the meat or jelly is too warm; chill both and try again. If it sets in ridges, stand the bowl briefly in warm water and stir until smooth.

   Several thin coats give a clear finish. One heavy coat traps bubbles, slides into puddles, and conceals the careful trimming beneath it.
5. 5

   Make the leg mousse

   Strip the skin, bones, tendons, and gristle from the cold leg quarters; you should have about 10 ounces (285 g) of cooked meat. Purée it in a food processor with the reserved ¾ cup of liquid gelée, the remaining salt, and the white pepper until smooth, then press the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice. Whip the cold cream to soft peaks and fold it into the chicken purée in three additions. Taste a small chilled spoonful and correct the seasoning. If the purée begins setting before the cream is folded in, stand the bowl in lukewarm water and stir just until supple, then return it to the ice before continuing. Rinse a 3-cup dome mold with cold water, shake out the excess, fill it with the mousse, tap gently to release air pockets, and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate until firmly set, at least 3 hours.

   Keep the meat, gelée, bowl, and cream cold. Warm fat makes a greasy mousse, while properly chilled cream gives it a light, close texture that slices without crumbling.
6. 6

   Prepare the garniture

   Keep the chopped tongue and chopped truffle in separate chilled bowls so their colors remain distinct. Dry the reserved whole truffle carefully, brush it with a thin coat of half-set gelée, chill for 5 minutes, and repeat once. Chill the serving platter as well. The source asks for alternating truffle and tongue, not a mixed confetti, so resist the urge to combine them.

7. 7

   Build the upright crown

   Dip the outside of the mousse mold into warm water for 5 seconds, dry it, and invert it onto the cold platter. If the dome does not release, wrap the mold briefly in a warm towel and try again; do not shake it. Arrange the four glazed suprêmes at equal intervals around the dome, their cut sides resting against the mousse and their scraped wing points directed upward. Dab half-set gelée between each suprême and the mousse to fix it in place. If a piece slips, brace it with a folded strip of parchment and chill for 10 minutes before continuing. Cover the dome's upper surface and fill the gaps between the suprêmes with alternating panels of chopped truffle and chopped tongue, pressing them lightly into a fresh brush of gelée.

8. 8

   Crown and serve

   Pierce the glazed whole truffle with a short plain cocktail pick, your home hatelet, and set it upright at the center of the dome. Brush any exposed mousse with one final veil of gelée, remove the parchment supports once the arrangement holds, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. Keep the dish properly chilled, then take it out 15 minutes before serving so the mousse loses its refrigerator stiffness. Cut four sections, giving each guest one suprême, a generous wedge of mousse, and both truffle and tongue. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose genuinely small, tender chickens. Large roasting birds give oversized suprêmes and tougher leg meat, and the proportions stop making sense around a modest dome.
• •Use a clear, unsalted chicken stock with a clean flavor. The source assumed a stockpot never off the fire; a good prepared stock, reduced and strengthened with measured gelatin, is the honest home equivalent.
• •Good preserved whole black truffles are the classical pantry's answer when fresh truffles are unavailable. Drain and dry them well. Truffle oil cannot provide the texture, dark color, or whole glazed crown the source requires.
• •Langue écarlate is cooked, cured ox tongue with a rosy color. Order it from a charcuterie counter and chop it by hand; ordinary sliced ham changes both the flavor and the alternating pattern.
• •Serve with brut Champagne or a firm, dry white Burgundy. The bubbles or acidity cut through the cold mousse and tongue without bullying the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the chicken and prepare the gelée one day ahead. Keep the suprêmes chilled under their first coat of gelée, refrigerate the remaining gelée separately, and warm it very gently until liquid before making the mousse or adding further coats.
• •The mousse can be molded and chilled overnight. Assemble the complete dish up to 24 hours before serving, then cover it loosely only after every glazed surface has set so the covering never touches the crown.
• •Do not freeze the finished dish. Freezing damages the gelée and makes the cream mousse release liquid when thawed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 600g)