Soufflé de Caneton Rouennais

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with chilled bowl and blade
• •Fine-mesh drum sieve or sturdy fine strainer
• •Short flexible boning knife
• •Poultry shears
• •Snug 3-quart oval casserole with lid
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Parchment paper and kitchen twine
• •Thin instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Poël the duckling

   Remove and chill the raw liver before cooking. Cook the duckling by Poëlings (No. 250), following that preparation as written and stopping when the bird is only just done. The breast should reach 160°F (71°C), then rise to 165°F (74°C) during a five-minute covered rest; the deepest part of the thigh must also reach at least 165°F (74°C). If either remains below that mark after resting, return the bird to the oven briefly. Overcooking now dries the suprêmes before they ever reach the tartlets.

2. 2

   Form the duck case

   Set the warm duckling breast-side up. Cut close along the keel bone and raise the two suprêmes, the breast fillets, in whole lobes. Wrap them together in buttered parchment and cover so they retain their moisture. Through the breast opening, use poultry shears and a short boning knife to cut the ribs from the spine and remove the breastbone, rib cage, and main frame in manageable pieces. Leave the legs, wings, outer skin, and as much attached meat intact as possible, creating a hollow case that still suggests the bird. If the skin tears, overlap the edges and reinforce the inside with a small buttered parchment patch. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Make the mousseline

   Set the chilled processor bowl over ice if your kitchen is warm. Pulse the raw duck meat and duck liver until very fine, scraping the bowl often. Add the 3 ounces (85 g) of foie gras, the egg white, salt, and white pepper, then process only until the mixture is smooth and tacky. Press it through a fine sieve into a cold bowl. If the mixture begins to look greasy or its temperature rises above 50°F (10°C), stop and chill it for fifteen minutes before continuing; cold restores the emulsion before the fat separates completely. Poach a teaspoonful in barely simmering water until it reaches 165°F (74°C), taste, and correct the seasoning. Weigh out and reserve 3 ounces (85 g) of the finished mousseline for the tartlets.

4. 4

   Rebuild the duckling

   Butter a snug oval casserole and a doubled strip of strong parchment about 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Spoon the remaining mousseline into the duck case, filling the hollow and rounding the top to reconstruct the natural breast of the bird. Bring the skin edges toward the filling without stretching them. Wrap the buttered parchment band around the body and secure it with kitchen twine, firmly enough to support the shape but not so tightly that the mousseline cannot expand slightly. Set the bird breast-side up in the prepared casserole.

5. 5

   Fill the tartlets

   Press the second 3-ounce (85 g) portion of raw foie gras through the clean sieve to make a purée. Fold it gently into the reserved mousseline in equal weights, keeping the mixture cold. Divide it among the four baked tartlet shells and smooth the tops without compacting them. Set the tartlets in a small buttered heatproof dish that can sit beside the duck casserole in the same roasting pan.

6. 6

   Poach under cover

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Place the duck casserole and tartlet dish inside a deep roasting pan, cover both tightly, and pour very hot water into the outer pan until it reaches halfway up their sides without touching the food. Poach for twenty minutes, then check with a thin probe. Remove the tartlets once their centres are set and register 165°F (74°C). Continue cooking the duckling until the centre of its mousseline also reaches 165°F (74°C), usually another five to fifteen minutes in home cookware. The original twenty minutes remains the first check, not a wager with raw poultry. If the water begins bubbling hard, add a little cool water to the outer pan; violent heat makes the mousseline grainy.

7. 7

   Warm breast and sauce

   During the final five minutes, place the wrapped suprêmes in a covered dish in the oven so they warm without drying. Heat the Rouennaise sauce separately over the gentlest flame, stirring until it is glossy and flows from a spoon. Do not boil it. If it tightens too much, remove it from the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of hot water.

8. 8

   Dish the soufflé

   Rest the reconstructed duckling for five minutes, then cut away the twine and peel off the parchment band. Transfer it carefully to a warm oval platter. Slice each suprême diagonally into two thick collops and place one on every foie gras tartlet. Surround the duckling with the four tartlets and bring the Rouennaise sauce to the table separately, as the dish requires. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order the birds before shopping day. You need one whole young duckling, its raw liver, and 12 ounces of boneless meat from another half-duckling. If the whole bird arrives without its liver, buy fresh duck liver separately; chicken liver changes the flavour and is not an invisible exchange.
• •Raw foie gras matters twice here, first inside the mousseline and again as an equal-weight addition to the tartlet filling. Pâté and cooked foie gras cannot replace it because their salt, texture, and existing cookery will break the forcemeat.
• •Ready-baked tartlet shells are the sensible home equivalent of a pastry station. Choose plain savory shells without sugar, herbs, or cheese, and keep them no wider than 2½ inches so the garnish remains in proportion to the duckling.
• •Serve a fresh red with enough acidity to meet the foie gras and Rouennaise sauce, such as a restrained red Burgundy. Pour modest glasses. This dish has plenty to say without a shouting wine.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Rouennaise sauce according to its own formula up to one day ahead, chill it promptly, and reheat it gently shortly before serving. If its final liver enrichment is added at the last moment in that formula, keep that finishing step for service.
• •The tartlet shells may be baked a day ahead and kept airtight at room temperature. Refresh them for five minutes in a moderate oven if they have lost their crispness, then cool before filling.
• •Dice the raw duck meat, duck liver, and both portions of foie gras up to two hours ahead. Keep them covered in the cold with the processor bowl and blade. Do not process or fill the bird until the cooked duckling has been opened.
• •This dish should be assembled and poached close to serving. The mousseline toughens when reheated, and the warm suprêmes lose their tenderness if held for a long dinner-party interval.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 440g)