Chef Juliette
Accompaniment of Roasts
The roast keeps its sauce and gains its proper escort: lofty Yorkshire pudding for beef, sage and onion dressing for birds, or veal stuffing for pork and veal, each scaled for four.
Culinary Explorer
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Pullets
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1955, Pullets, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Poularde rôtie teaches the whole discipline of roasting: salt within, shield the breast with bacon, let fierce heat colour the bird, then trust white juices and the thermometer together.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 20 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield4 servings
Poularde rôtie (roast pullet) teaches the discipline that settles every roast bird: protect the breast until the legs have nearly caught up, then expose it just long enough to take colour. Salt belongs inside, bacon belongs outside, and the final ten minutes uncovered are not decoration. They are the moment the bird becomes roast poultry rather than merely cooked poultry.
The original hung large birds before a concentrated fire, with a cook tending their distance and a very hot dish waiting. The plural entry becomes one large pullet for four, and a wire rack in a fierce oven supplies the same dry, surrounding heat. The spit, hook, and constant attendant are brigade scaffolding and can go; the trussing, interior salt, bacon shield, and late uncovering are the dish and must stay. A brief rest replaces the hands that once unhooked, plattered, and carried the bird while it settled. Bread Sauce (No. 113) remains a finished preparation, served hot and separately as the book intended. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Judge doneness by two witnesses. Tilt the bird over a white plate and look for juice that runs white or clear rather than rosy, then confirm with a thermometer at the breast and thigh. If the breast colours before the legs finish, cover only the bronzed area and keep roasting. Ça se rattrape. The step that matters most is removing the bacon when the bird is nearly cooked, not before; too soon dries the breast, too late leaves it pale.
Poularde rôtie belongs to French cuisine bourgeoise, the comfortable household and Sunday table where a well-fed young hen was prized for its broad, tender breast. Classical kitchens carried that domestic roast onto grand tables without changing its governing method: truss the bird, protect it with bardes de lard, roast before strong heat, then uncover it for colour. The Bread Sauce (No. 113), crisp bacon, and grilled sausages recorded alongside it belong to English service rather than a French regional garnish, a revealing example of one roasting method crossing between two table traditions.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large pullet
Quantity
1 (about 4 to 4½ lb / 1.8 to 2 kg)
giblets removed and bird patted dry
fine sea salt
Quantity
1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g)
unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
6 thin slices (about 6 oz / 170 g)
hot water
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), plus more only if needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large pulletgiblets removed and bird patted dry | 1 (about 4 to 4½ lb / 1.8 to 2 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) |
| unsmoked streaky bacon | 6 thin slices (about 6 oz / 170 g) |
| hot water | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), plus more only if needed |
| Bread Saucehot, for serving | 1 cup (240 ml / 250 g) Bread Sauce (No. 113) |
Equipment Needed
- •Shallow roasting pan, about 13 by 9 inches (33 by 23 cm), with wire rack
- •Kitchen twine
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small ovenproof tray for crisping the bacon
- •Large heatproof serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Heat and truss
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C), or 400°F (200°C) with a fan, with a rack in the lower middle. Set a wire rack inside a shallow roasting pan. Salt the pullet thoroughly inside the cavity, fold the wing tips underneath, and tie the legs close to the body with kitchen twine. Trussing makes one compact shape, so the narrow legs do not race ahead while the breast remains exposed.
Do not rinse the bird. Water splashes raw poultry juices around the kitchen, and a wet surface browns poorly. Dry it carefully with paper towels instead. - 2
Cover with bacon
Lay the bacon slices across the breast in overlapping strips, carrying them down the sides wherever the meat is least protected. Tie one loose loop of twine around the bird if the slices threaten to slide. The bacon is a barde, a protective layer of fat: it bastes the breast while the legs receive the fierce heat they need. Set the pullet breast-side up on the rack.
- 3
Roast under cover
Roast without basting for 55 to 65 minutes. The bacon is already doing that work, and repeatedly opening the oven only weakens the heat. Watch the pan rather than the clock alone: the drippings should brown into a savoury fond, not blacken. If the fond begins catching, pour 2 tablespoons of the hot water into the pan without wetting the bird. Ça se rattrape, and the saved fond will become the gravy.
- 4
Strip and colour
When the thickest part of the breast reaches about 155 to 158°F (68 to 70°C), lift off the bacon and place it on a small tray beside the bird. Return both to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the breast is deeply golden, the bacon is crisp, and the thermometer reaches at least 165°F (74°C) in the breast and 170°F (77°C) in the inner thigh without touching bone. Tilt the pullet over a white plate; the juice from the cavity must run white or clear. If it remains rosy or the temperature is low, cover the already bronzed breast loosely with bacon or foil and roast in 5-minute intervals.
- 5
Rest on hot platter
Transfer the pullet to a serving platter warmed with hot water and dried well. Rest it for 10 minutes with the breast left uncovered so its colour remains proud. This short pause lets the juices settle while you finish the gravy; resting much longer defeats the source's demand for a bird served truly hot.
- 6
Make the pan gravy
Pour the roasting fat into a heatproof jug, leaving the brown fond in the pan. Set the pan over medium heat, add ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) of the hot water, and scrape until every browned morsel dissolves. Add the juices collected on the platter and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the gravy tastes concentrated but remains light enough to pour. Skim excess fat. If the bacon has made it too salty, loosen it with the remaining water; if it tastes thin, reduce it a minute longer.
- 7
Serve without delay
Arrange the crisp bacon around the whole pullet and bring it to the table on the hot platter. Serve the clear pan gravy and the hot Bread Sauce (No. 113) in separate sauceboats, allowing each person to choose one or both. Carve at the table while the breast is still succulent and the skin holds its colour. À table!
Chef Tips
- •A true poularde is a well-fed young hen with a broad, tender breast. If the butcher cannot supply one, choose an ordinary young roasting chicken of the same weight. It will be slightly leaner, which makes the bacon shield even more useful.
- •Use unsmoked streaky bacon. Heavily smoked bacon overwhelms the mild bird and can make the pan gravy harsh; the bacon's work here is protection, seasoning, and fat.
- •White juice is the classical visual test, but colour alone cannot measure safety. Use the plate and thermometer together. If they disagree, trust the thermometer.
- •Crisping the removed bacon and arranging it around the bird follows one of the English serving customs recorded with the entry. The hot Bread Sauce (No. 113) is the other; it should remain in its own sauceboat rather than covering the burnished breast.
- •Pour a white Burgundy or a restrained red Burgundy. The roast asks for freshness and enough body to meet the bacon, not a wine that shouts over the poultry.
Advance Preparation
- •Salt and truss the pullet up to 8 hours ahead, then refrigerate it uncovered. This dries the exterior for better colour. Add the bacon only before roasting, and let the bird stand out of the cold for 30 minutes while the oven heats.
- •The Bread Sauce (No. 113) may be prepared up to 1 day ahead, chilled promptly, and reheated gently while the pullet rests.
- •The bird is best roasted close to serving. Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, but reheat carved meat covered with a little gravy so the lean breast does not dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 390g)
Calories
850 calories
Total Fat
52 g
Saturated Fat
16 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
32 g
Cholesterol
260 mg
Sodium
1900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
81 g
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