Blanc de Dindonneau à la Toulousaine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •2-quart heavy saucepan
• •10-inch heavy skillet
• •Wide saucepan for poaching
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Two teaspoons for shaping quenelles
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm 14-inch oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Schedule the poëling

   Schedule the completed Poëlings (No. 250) preparation so the turkey breast finishes near the end of the garnish work, not an hour before service. Keep the cooked breast whole and skin-on, loosely covered while it rests, and measure 1½ cups of its strained, degreased cooking liquor. Do not slice the suprême yet. It holds its juices far better as one piece.

2. 2

   Make the mousseline

   Chill the bowl and metal blade of a food processor for 15 minutes. Process the cubed chicken with ½ teaspoon of the salt and a pinch of white pepper until it becomes smooth and tacky. Add the egg white and process just until absorbed, then add ¼ cup of the cold cream in three additions, pulsing only until the mousseline is smooth. Keep everything cold: if the paste turns loose or oily, stop immediately, chill the bowl for 10 minutes, then pulse in a teaspoon of cold cream. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Poach the quenelles

   Bring a wide saucepan of lightly salted water to 175°F (79°C), with movement beneath the surface but no boil. Shape one test quenelle, a small poultry dumpling, between two wet teaspoons and lower it into the water. Poach until firm and cooked through, about 6 minutes, then taste for seasoning. Adjust the mousseline, shape 12 small quenelles, and poach them for 6 to 8 minutes. If they fray at the edges, the water is too hot; lower the heat and chill the remaining paste briefly before continuing. Drain the quenelles on a clean towel.

4. 4

   Brown the garnish

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in one layer and cook until their moisture evaporates and their edges turn golden, then season lightly and lift them out. Add another tablespoon of butter and brown the prepared sweetbread pieces on every side until crisp at the edges and hot through, about 5 minutes. Keep both components warm, but do not crowd them into one covered bowl or their browned surfaces will soften.

5. 5

   Build the pale sauce

   Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook the pale roux for 2 minutes without letting it color. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the cooking liquor from Poëlings (No. 250), followed by the remaining ½ cup cream and the truffle liquor, if using. Simmer gently for 8 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and no raw flour taste remains. Whisk the egg yolk with the lemon juice, temper it with two spoonfuls of hot sauce, then return it to the pan off the heat. Warm gently until thickened, but never boil. If the liaison turns grainy, take the pan off the heat, whisk in a tablespoon of cold cream, and strain it at once. Fold in the quenelles, mushrooms, sweetbreads, and sliced truffle, reserving a few handsome slices for the top. Hold the Toulousaine garnish over the lowest heat.

6. 6

   Draw the light glaze

   Pour the remaining ½ cup cooking liquor from Poëlings (No. 250) into a small saucepan and boil steadily until reduced to about ¼ cup. It should look glossy and flow from a spoon in a narrow thread, not sit like syrup. Remove it from the heat and swirl in 1 tablespoon of butter. If it tightens too far or tastes too concentrated, whisk in a tablespoon of hot water at a time until the glaze flows again.

7. 7

   Cut the suprême

   Lift the skin from the warm turkey breast prepared by Poëlings (No. 250). Cut the suprême across the grain on a slight bias into 8 thick collops, each about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Lay them on a warm plate and cover loosely. If the center has cooled, spoon over a little warm sauce and hold the slices for no more than 5 minutes in a very low oven. High heat now would cook them twice, and dry turkey has no rescue worth trusting.

8. 8

   Sauté the foie gras

   Wipe the skillet clean and melt the final tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until its foam subsides. Season the chilled foie gras lightly with salt and white pepper. Sauté, cook swiftly in hot fat, the collops for 30 to 45 seconds per side, just until bronzed outside and softly set within. Work in two batches if the pan is crowded. If a collop begins melting before it browns, lift it to a cold plate and chill the remaining pieces for 5 minutes before continuing.

9. 9

   Dish in a circle

   Arrange the 8 turkey collops in a close circle on a warmed oval platter, placing one sautéed foie gras collop in each interval. Spoon the Toulousaine garnish into the center and show the reserved truffle slices on top. Draw the light glaze in a narrow thread around the outside of the circle, leaving the bronze foie gras visible. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh foie gras means a raw lobe intended for cooking, not pâté, mousse, or torchon. Ask for firm slices from a well-chilled lobe and keep them cold until the skillet is ready; warmth makes foie gras surrender its fat before it can brown.
• •A whole preserved black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles are unavailable. Drain and slice it, then use its liquor in the sauce. Truffle oil brings perfume without the truffle's texture and does not belong in this garnish.
• •Cockscombs and cock kidneys were part of the full Toulousaine vocabulary, but obtaining and preparing them for four people creates more labor than pleasure. Sweetbreads, mushrooms, truffle, and poultry quenelles preserve the garnish's intended contrast without pretending the omitted pieces are something else.
• •Serve a full-bodied dry white, such as a dry Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh or white Bordeaux. It has enough structure for foie gras and sweetbreads while leaving the pale turkey and truffle sauce clearly themselves.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the sweetbreads a day ahead. Soak them in several changes of cold water, blanch them gently for 5 minutes, peel away the outer membrane, then press them between two plates in the cold until firm. Keep covered and chilled until browning.
• •The quenelles can be poached a day ahead. Cool them quickly, cover, and chill; warm them gently in the finished sauce without allowing it to boil.
• •Prepare the turkey through Poëlings (No. 250) on the day of service. Its separate preparation time is not included above, but the poëling can overlap with making the quenelles and browning the garnish.
• •The roux-based sauce can be made through the addition of cream several hours ahead. Add the egg-yolk liaison, truffle, and cooked garnish only during the final warming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 490g)