Côtelettes de Pigeonneaux en Papillotes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Heavy oven-safe parchment paper, plus one spare sheet
• •Pastry brush
• •Poultry shears, if the butcher has not split the squabs
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the reference sets

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the middle. Prepare four complete garniture-and-oiled-paper sets from Côte de Veau Papillote (No. 1259), omitting its veal cutlets and sizing each heart for one squab half. Heavy parchment is the safe home equivalent of strong kitchen paper. Leave at least 2½ inches (6 cm) of clear paper around the filling area so there is enough edge to pleat without pulling against the bird.

   Keep one extra parchment heart ready. Bones can catch the paper, and transferring a torn parcel to a fresh oiled sheet is safer than trusting a patch.
2. 2

   Season the squab

   Inspect the split squabs for small bone fragments, especially along the backbone, and remove them with your fingers or tweezers. Pat every surface dry, then season the halves lightly with the salt and pepper. The ham and Duxelles are already seasoned, so restraint here keeps the finished parcel balanced.

3. 3

   Raidir the squab

   Melt half the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat until it foams without browning. Add two squab halves, skin side down, and raidir them for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the skin turns pale gold and the flesh firms; turn and cook the cut side for 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining butter and squab. This isn't a hard sear. The oven must finish the bird inside the paper. If the butter darkens before the flesh firms, lift the pan from the heat, wipe out the spent butter, and continue with fresh butter at a lower temperature.

4. 4

   Fill the prepared sets

   Let the squab halves settle for 3 minutes, just until they can be handled without scorching your fingers. Place one half into each prepared Côte de Veau Papillote (No. 1259) set in place of its veal cutlet, then complete the referenced ham-and-Duxelles enclosure. Keep the filling compact and centered. A bone pressed against the fold can pierce the parchment as the parcel expands.

5. 5

   Seal without gaps

   Fold each paper heart closed and make narrow, overlapping pleats around the curved edge, pressing every fold firmly before making the next. Finish by twisting the point underneath the parcel. The pleats needn't be ornamental, but they must be continuous. If the paper tears, transfer the entire filling to the spare oiled heart and fold again; a pasted-on patch will open under pressure.

6. 6

   Bake until ballooned

   Arrange the parcels without touching on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 13 to 16 minutes. Each papillote should rise into a taut dome and take a faint butter-gold color around its edges. If one remains flat while the others rise, a pleat is leaking. Pull out the sheet, pinch the open section into two tight overlapping folds with tongs, and return it immediately. Ça se rattrape. Check the largest parcel by slipping an instant-read thermometer through a thick pleat into the thigh without touching bone; the squab is ready at 165°F (74°C). If it falls short, refold that edge and bake for 2 minutes more.

7. 7

   Serve in paper

   Transfer each inflated papillote directly to a warm dinner plate and serve at once. Let each diner slit the top at the table, keeping hands and faces back from the first opening because the trapped air is fiercely hot. The butter-stained paper, the mushroom-rich aroma, and the revealed squab are the presentation. Nothing needs arranging with tweezers. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for young squab of similar size and have each bird split cleanly through breastbone and backbone. Equal halves finish together; a heavy bird beside a small one leaves you choosing between raw thigh and dry breast.
• •The finished Duxelles sauce required by the reference must be thick enough to hold a mound on a spoon. If it runs, reduce it gently before assembling the parcels, then cool it. Loose sauce wets the seam and defeats the seal.
• •Use genuine oven-safe parchment, never waxed paper. Cut the hearts generously and practice two or three empty pleats before filling them. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but the fold does need attention.
• •Serve with buttered green beans or a restrained potato purée and pour a supple red Burgundy or cru Beaujolais. Heavy tannin bullies the young pigeon and buries the mushrooms.
• •This dish waits badly. If a parcel must stand for a few minutes, leave it sealed and keep it on its warm tray; once opened, the squab and Duxelles should be eaten immediately.

Advance Preparation

• •The garniture for Côte de Veau Papillote (No. 1259) can be prepared earlier in the day and kept chilled. Bring the finished Duxelles sauce just to cool room temperature before assembling so it spreads without soaking the paper.
• •The squabs may be split and checked for bone fragments one day ahead. Keep them covered in the cold, then dry and season them immediately before cooking.
• •Cut the parchment hearts and trim the ham several hours ahead, but don't assemble the filled parcels more than 30 minutes before baking. Prolonged contact with the sauce softens the folds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 175g)