Galantine de Volaille

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small sharp boning knife
• •Chopping board with a well
• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Trussing needle and unwaxed cotton thread
• •Two clean lint-free cotton cloths or lengths of butter muslin
• •Kitchen twine
• •6 to 8 quart narrow stockpot or oval roasting pot
• •Probe thermometer
• •Two rimmed trays and a flat 3½ to 4½ lb (1.6 to 2 kg) weight
• •Pastry brush
• •Long slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the work

   Clear a generous work surface and make room in the refrigerator for two rimmed trays. Chill the processor bowl and blade for at least fifteen minutes, and keep the veal and fresh pork refrigerator-cold. Set out two clean lint-free cotton cloths or lengths of butter muslin. Forcemeat is an emulsion of meat, fat, and moisture, and warmth separates it before it has a chance to set.

   Work in short stages. Whenever the meat begins to feel soft or greasy, return it to the cold before continuing.
2. 2

   Bone through the back

   Set the chicken breast-side down and cut through the skin along the backbone from the neck end to the tail. Using the point of a small sharp knife, scrape the flesh away from the carcass while keeping the blade against bone. Work evenly toward each breast, disarticulate the wing and leg joints where they meet the trunk, and lift the carcass free without puncturing the breast skin. Strip the remaining meat from the skin and spread that skin exterior-side down on a chilled cloth. Reserve 4 oz (115 g) breast meat for stripes and 4¼ oz (120 g) leg meat and breast trimmings for the forcemeat. Keep every scrap, bone, and remaining piece of chicken for the poaching stock.

   If the skin tears, don't abandon it. Ça se rattrape. Patch the hole from inside with a piece of loose wing skin, then catch both layers when the seam is sewn.
3. 3

   Enrich the poaching stock

   Break the carcass into several pieces and place it in a narrow 6 to 8 quart pot with the unused chicken meat, 11 cups of the White Veal Stock, and Poultry Stock (No. 10), and the pork rind already prepared through Blanchings (No. 273). Keep the final cup of stock cold for correcting the poach later. Bring the pot up slowly, skim carefully, and hold it at a bare tremble for forty-five minutes. Strain without pressing the solids, return the liquor to the cleaned pot, and keep it just below a simmer.

4. 4

   Cut the striped garnish

   Cut the reserved breast into long pieces about one-third inch (8 mm) square. Season them with ⅛ teaspoon of the salt and a small pinch of white pepper, then toss with the Cognac and the chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Refrigerate for twenty minutes. Cut the truffle, salt pork, ham, and ox tongue into batons of the same thickness and roughly the same length. Regular pieces make a clean mosaic when the galantine is sliced; ragged scraps make a muddy one.

5. 5

   Make the forcemeat

   Combine the reserved leg meat and breast trimmings with the chilled veal and fatty fresh pork. Add the remaining salt and white pepper, plus the nutmeg. Pulse in the chilled processor until finely chopped, scrape the bowl, then process only until the mixture becomes smooth and tacky enough to cling to the blade. Add every drop of the Cognac and Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) left around the breast strips and pulse briefly to incorporate. Fry a teaspoonful in a small pan and taste it cold enough not to burn you; correct the seasoning now. If the forcemeat looks greasy or begins smearing around the bowl, stop immediately, spread it on a cold tray, and chill it for fifteen minutes before processing again. Ça se rattrape. Don't add egg or crumbs, which would change the close, fine texture of the dish.

6. 6

   Build the galantine

   Square the chicken skin gently without cutting away useful edges. Spread one-third of the forcemeat in a band 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide down its center, leaving about 1½ inches (4 cm) clear at both ends. Lay half the salt pork, breast, truffle, ham, and tongue in alternating lengthwise rows. Cover with another third of the forcemeat, repeat the striped rows, and enclose them with the remaining forcemeat. Keep the stripes straight and the layers even. This arrangement is not decoration added afterward; it is the structure of the galantine.

7. 7

   Sew and wrap

   Draw the chicken skin snugly over the filling and overlap its back edges without stretching them thin. Sew the seam with unwaxed cotton thread at intervals of about ½ inch (1 cm), closing the ends securely. Shape the galantine into an even cylinder about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Roll it tightly in the first clean cloth, twist the ends in opposite directions, and tie them firmly with kitchen twine; add three evenly spaced ties around the body. If filling escapes through a weak seam, scrape it back under the skin, add two stitches, and rewrap. The cloth is the second defense.

8. 8

   Poach without boiling

   Bring the strained poaching stock to 180°F (82°C), lower in the wrapped galantine, and use a small heatproof plate to keep it submerged if necessary. Hold the liquor between 176°F and 185°F (80°C and 85°C) for 1 hour 15 minutes, turning the roll once halfway through. It must barely tremble. Cook until the center reaches 165°F (74°C). If the stock begins boiling, lift the pot off the heat and add some of the reserved cold White Veal Stock, and Poultry Stock (No. 10) until the temperature falls back into range. Ça se rattrape, although a prolonged boil will make the forcemeat firmer than intended.

9. 9

   Rewrap and press

   Lift the galantine onto a tray and let it drain for ten minutes. Remove the wet cloth carefully, leaving the stitched skin intact, then roll the galantine in the second clean dry cloth and retie it in the same shape. Set it between two rimmed trays and place a flat weight of 3½ to 4½ lb (1.6 to 2 kg) on top. Never exceed 5 lb (2.3 kg), or the stripes and forcemeat will be squeezed out through the seam. Transfer the whole press to the refrigerator within thirty minutes and chill for at least eight hours, preferably overnight.

10. 10

    Set the aspic

    Skim the warm poaching liquor, chill it, and lift away the firm cap of fat without disturbing the sediment beneath. Measure the required liquor and complete 2 cups of Ordinary Aspics (No. 158) according to its separate formula. Chill a spoonful for ten minutes to test the set. If it remains liquid, return to Ordinary Aspics (No. 158) and correct the gel strength there; ça se rattrape. Set most of the finished aspic in a shallow dish for cutting into small cubes, and reserve about ½ cup in a container that can be warmed gently for glazing.

11. 11

    Glaze and slice

    Remove the weight, unwrap the galantine, cut away the stitches, and trim both ends cleanly. Warm the reserved Ordinary Aspics (No. 158) only until half-melted and syrupy, then brush a thin coat over the cold galantine. Chill for ten minutes and repeat until the skin carries a clear light glaze. Present it whole on a chilled oval platter with cubes of aspic around it, then cut crosswise into slices about ½ inch (1.5 cm) thick using a long sharp knife. The carved rice pedestal has gone, but the generous slice and its clear jelly remain. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a plump chicken with supple, unbroken skin, not an old bird. Tough poultry can suit a braise, but an old fowl gives a dry forcemeat whatever you do to it. A butcher can bone the bird through the back if asked plainly, but request the intact skin and every bone back.
• •Fresh black truffle is magnificent when the season offers it. At other times, good preserved whole black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer; drain them well and measure the truffle itself, not its liquid.
• •Use fatty fresh pork belly, not smoked bacon, in the forcemeat. The pork supplies the fat needed for a smooth cold slice, while smoke would overwhelm the truffle, tongue, and delicate poultry.
• •Press lightly and in the refrigerator. More weight does not make a finer galantine; it drives out moisture and distorts the striped center. The source limit of roughly 5 lb (2.3 kg) remains wise on a home table.
• •Serve the galantine properly chilled but not icy, with its own aspic and good bread. A dry white Burgundy or a firm dry Champagne cuts through the richness without bullying the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The galantine is meant to be made ahead. Bone, fill, poach, and press it in one evening, then leave it under its light weight in the refrigerator overnight.
• •White Veal Stock, and Poultry Stock (No. 10), Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), and pork rind prepared through Blanchings (No. 273) can be ready before the assembly day. Keep each component chilled until needed.
• •The finished galantine keeps for three days under refrigeration, tightly wrapped after its glaze has set. Slice only what you intend to serve so the cut face does not dry.
• •Ordinary Aspics (No. 158) can be completed while the galantine presses. Keep the glazing portion covered and the decorative portion set in a shallow dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)