Pigeonneaux en Compote

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5- to 6-quart heavy oval braiser or Dutch oven
• •10-inch skillet with lid
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Kitchen twine
• •Slotted spoon
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the components

   Pat the squabs thoroughly dry. Tuck each pair of wing tips beneath the back, draw the legs close to the body, and secure them with kitchen twine so the birds brown evenly and keep their shape. Season them lightly with salt, remembering that the pork and half-glaze bring salt of their own. Combine the pourable demi-glace and tomato purée to make 3 cups of half-glaze sauce (tomatéd); the tomato should be distinctly visible in both colour and flavour without turning the sauce into tomato sauce. Warm this and the brown stock separately.

2. 2

   Glaze the onions

   Put the 24 pearl onions in a 10-inch skillet with 2 tablespoons of the butter, the water, and a small pinch of salt. Cover and simmer gently until nearly tender, 10 to 12 minutes, then uncover and roll the onions through the butter as the water evaporates. They are ready when tender and evenly lacquered with pale brown butter. If the liquid disappears while the centres are still firm, add another spoonful of water and continue. Ça se rattrape. Transfer the onions to a plate.

3. 3

   Fry the garnish

   Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a snug, heavy braiser over medium heat. Add the salted pork breast prepared by Blanchings (No. 273) and fry until its edges begin to colour and its fat turns translucent. Add the quartered mushrooms and cook until they lose their raw whiteness and take a little bronze at the edges. Lift both out with a slotted spoon and drain them, leaving the butter and browned film in the braiser.

4. 4

   Brown the squabs

   Raise the heat to medium-high and brown the squabs in the same butter, working two at a time if necessary so the pot never crowds. Turn them patiently until the breasts, backs, and legs are a deep butter-gold. Pale birds give nothing to the sauce. If the butter darkens too quickly, lower the heat and keep turning; browned milk solids are welcome, black ones are bitter. Lift the squabs out and let the excess butter drain away.

5. 5

   Braise and reduce

   Pour off excess fat while leaving the brown fond attached to the pot. Add the white wine and scrape the base clean with a wooden spoon, then boil until the wine has reduced to a glossy few spoonfuls. Pour in the warm brown stock and an equal volume of half-glaze sauce (tomatéd), add the bouquet garni, and settle in the squabs. The liquid should just cover them in a snug pot. Note its starting level, then hold the braise uncovered at a quiet simmer until the liquid has fallen by half and each bird reaches at least 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the thigh, usually 30 to 45 minutes. Check from 25 minutes onward. If the birds finish first, lift them out and reduce the sauce alone; if the sauce reaches half first, lower the heat and finish the birds gently in it. Ça se rattrape, and tender pigeon matters more than obedience to the clock.

   A hard boil tightens the meat and makes the sauce greasy. The surface should tremble steadily, not churn.
6. 6

   Strain and finish

   Transfer the squabs to a warm platter and discard the bouquet garni. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into the wiped braiser, skimming away any obvious surface fat. Return the squabs, then add the fried salt pork, mushrooms, and all 24 glazed onions. Simmer gently for exactly 10 minutes so the garnish takes up the sauce. The finished sauce must nap the back of a spoon and cling to the birds. If it remains thin, lift out the birds and garnish and reduce it harder for a few minutes. If it tightens too far, loosen it one tablespoon at a time with warm brown stock. Never apologize for a sauce that needed correction; correct it.

7. 7

   Serve very hot

   Remove the twine and arrange one squab per person in the hot serving dish. Spoon six glazed onions around each bird, divide the mushrooms and salt pork fairly, and coat everything generously with the reduced sauce. Bring the dish to the table at once, with the remaining sauce pooled beneath the birds. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for true squab, a young pigeon weighing about 14 to 16 ounces. Its dark, fine-grained meat is the point of this dish. A Cornish hen can follow the same architecture, but it needs a longer braise and produces a milder result.
• •Use pourable demi-glace, not concentrated paste straight from the jar. If yours is concentrated, dilute it according to its directions before measuring, then add enough tomato purée for the half-glaze to become distinctly tomatéd.
• •Choose unsalted brown stock and season only at the end. Salt pork, reduced stock, and demi-glace all concentrate as the sauce falls, so early enthusiasm with the salt cellar becomes expensive.
• •Pot shape governs reduction. Four birds should sit closely in one layer with little empty space around them; an oversized Dutch oven demands extra liquid and leaves you reducing long after the squabs are cooked.
• •A fresh, lightly structured red suits the earthy garnish and dark pigeon meat. Choose a cru Beaujolais or a supple Burgundy Pinot Noir, neither heavily oaked nor too solemn.

Advance Preparation

• •The brown stock and half-glaze sauce can be prepared or purchased several days ahead. Keep them chilled, then warm them separately before they enter the braise.
• •The pearl onions may be peeled and glazed earlier the same day. Refrigerate them once cool, then add them during the final 10-minute simmer.
• •The salt pork and mushrooms can be fried up to 2 hours ahead and held covered in the refrigerator. Bring them back toward room temperature before the final simmer so they do not chill the sauce.
• •For the best texture, brown and braise the squabs near serving time. Leftovers keep for up to 2 days when cooled promptly and refrigerated in their sauce; reheat at the gentlest simmer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 560g)