Bécasses et Bécassines Froides

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4 to 5 quart heavy saucepan or narrow Dutch oven
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Shallow nonreactive chilling container
• •Large bowl or roasting pan for an ice bath
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray
• •Fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Pastry brush or small ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the birds

   Inspect the cavities and flesh carefully, removing pinfeathers and every visible shot fragment. Pat the birds dry, then season inside and out with half the salt and the white pepper. Tuck the wings beneath the bodies and tie the legs together loosely so each bird keeps its shape beneath the cold coating. Keep them chilled while you prepare the cuisson, the poaching liquor.

   If the birds came from a hunter, ask how they were handled and chilled, and inspect them with particular care. Cold service leaves no room for doubtful game.
2. 2

   Build the cuisson

   Melt 2 tbsp (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a snug, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 8 minutes without browning; the vegetables should soften and smell sweet while remaining pale. Add the bouquet garni, wine, and 5 cups (1.2 L / 1.2 kg) of the stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, then taste and season lightly. This liquor will be reduced later, so restraint now prevents a salty aspic.

3. 3

   Poach without boiling

   Lower the birds into the cuisson breast-side up. The liquid should nearly cover them; add some of the remaining stock if necessary. Lay a parchment round directly on the surface and hold the liquid between 180 and 190°F (82 and 88°C), with only an occasional tremble. Poach woodcocks for 18 to 25 minutes or snipes for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). If the pot boils, lift it off the heat and add a small splash of cool stock. Ça se rattrape. A hard boil tightens these little birds before you have time to notice.

   Begin checking early. Size governs the cooking time more reliably than the name of the bird, and snipe can pass from tender to dry within minutes.
4. 4

   Cool in the liquor

   Transfer the birds to a shallow nonreactive container. Strain the hot cuisson over them, discarding the vegetables and bouquet garni, then set the container in an ice bath. Turn the birds once or twice as the liquor cools so they remain submerged and cool evenly. Refrigerate as soon as the container is no longer hot, keeping the birds in their liquor until cold throughout, at least 3 hours. Do not leave the pot cooling slowly on the counter. This immersion keeps the lean flesh moist and is one of the steps the dish cannot surrender.

5. 5

   Concentrate the liquor

   Lift the cold birds from the liquor and set them on a rack over a tray. Blot them carefully, then refrigerate uncovered while you make the coatings. Skim every trace of fat from the liquor and boil it in a clean saucepan until 4 cups (960 ml / about 960 g) remain. If it reduces below that point, restore the measure with the reserved stock. Divide the cold liquor into 1 1/2 cups (360 ml / 360 g) for the sauce chaud-froid and 2 1/2 cups (600 ml / 600 g) for the aspic.

6. 6

   Clarify the aspic

   Reserve 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the aspic liquor and sprinkle 3 tsp (15 ml / 9 g) of the gelatin over it. Leave it to bloom for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg whites into the remaining 2 1/4 cups (540 ml / 540 g) of cold liquor, then heat very slowly, stirring until the whites gather into a pale raft. Stop stirring, open a small hole in the raft, and hold the liquid at the barest simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle it through a fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth, leaving the raft behind, then dissolve the bloomed gelatin in the hot clarified liquor. If the raft breaks, remove the pan from the heat, let everything settle, and filter twice. The aspic may lose a little brilliance, but it is not lost.

7. 7

   Make the chaud-froid

   Take 2 tbsp (30 ml / 30 g) from the reserved 1 1/2 cups of cold liquor and bloom the remaining 2 tsp (10 ml / 6 g) gelatin in it. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook this blond roux for 2 minutes without letting it color. Whisk in the remaining liquor little by little, then simmer for 8 minutes until smooth. Add the cream and cook gently until the sauce coats the back of a spoon in an opaque ivory layer. Remove it from the heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin and lemon juice, then strain. Taste it cold from a chilled spoon and correct the salt, since cold dulls seasoning. Cool the sauce over an ice bath, stirring, until thick but still pourable. If it sets around the edges, warm it briefly over a bain-marie, a warm-water bath, and stir it smooth. We don't apologize for butter or cream; they give the coating its flavor and supple finish.

8. 8

   Mask each bird

   Blot the birds once more. They must feel dry and cold, not merely cool. Leave them on the rack and spoon a thin, even layer of sauce chaud-froid over each bird, working from the breast downward and letting the excess fall onto the tray. Chill uncovered for 15 minutes, until the coating no longer marks when lightly touched, then apply a second thin coat to cover any shadows. If the sauce slides away, scrape it back into the saucepan, dry the bird again, and cool the sauce until it falls from the spoon in a heavy ribbon. Ça se rattrape. Thick layers crack; two thin layers hold.

   The rack matters because it lets excess sauce escape. A bird sitting in a puddle develops a thick, untidy skirt around its base.
9. 9

   Glaze with aspic

   Lay the truffle slices on the second coating while it is faintly tacky, then chill for another 10 minutes. Cool the clarified aspic over ice until it becomes lightly syrupy but remains fluid. Spoon or brush on one very thin coat, chill until set, and repeat twice, allowing each layer to firm before the next touches it. If the aspic begins setting in the bowl, stand it briefly in warm water; if it softens the sauce chaud-froid, it was too warm, so stop and rechill the birds before continuing. Pour any remaining aspic into a shallow dish and chill it for serving.

10. 10

    Set and serve

    Chill the finished birds uncovered for 4 hours or overnight. Once the final glaze is firm, cover them loosely so condensation cannot fall onto the surface. Chop the reserved aspic into rough, glistening crystals and arrange it around the birds on a cold oval platter. Let the platter stand for 15 minutes before serving, then allow one woodcock or two snipes per guest. The coating should remain cool and set while the game beneath loses its refrigerator chill. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy only legally sourced game from a dealer or hunter whose handling you trust. Ask for the birds drawn and oven-ready. The celebrated practice of roasting woodcock undrawn belongs to another preparation and should not be imported carelessly into a chilled dish.
• •Powdered gelatin is the honest home equivalent for an aspic stock kept under constant supervision. Brands of leaf gelatin vary in strength, while a measured powder gives this small batch a dependable, tender set.
• •The sauce and aspic must be cool enough to cling but not so cold that they seize in the bowl. Keep an ice bath and a bowl of warm water beside you, and move between them by seconds rather than minutes.
• •Truffle is traditional decoration, not structural necessity. If none is good and fragrant, leave the birds ivory and clear. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Serve with a mature red Burgundy at cool cellar temperature, or a dry white Burgundy if you prefer the cream and aspic to lead. Keep leftovers below 40°F (4°C) and eat them within 2 days.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach and cool the birds in their liquor the day before coating them. Their flavor settles, their flesh remains moist, and a completely cold bird accepts the sauce chaud-froid more cleanly.
• •The fully coated dish can be completed up to 24 hours before serving. Chill it uncovered until the aspic is firm, then cover loosely without letting wrapping touch the glaze.
• •Clarified aspic and sauce chaud-froid can each be made several hours before masking. Keep them chilled, then return them gently to a pourable consistency over warm water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)