Truffled Pullet

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor fitted with a metal blade
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •Small sharp knife
• •Shallow metal roasting pan with rack
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine, 2 skewers, and 2 large sheets of baking parchment
• •Slim kitchen tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pullet

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), with a rack in the lower-middle position. Pat the pullet completely dry. At the neck opening, feel for the V-shaped wishbone; cut closely along both arms with a small knife, scrape them free, and pull out the bone, or ask the butcher to do this. Slide your fingers beneath the skin and gently detach it across the whole breast without tearing it. Season the cavity and exterior with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. If the skin develops a small tear, don't widen it; a piece of bacon placed beneath it will support the weak spot during roasting.

2. 2

   Peel and portion truffles

   Brush the truffles under a thin stream of cold water, paying attention to the crevices, then dry them thoroughly. Peel them as thinly as you can, keeping every fragment of peel. Choose the largest truffle and cut it into fine slices; reserve these under cover. Cut the remaining truffles into pieces of about ¾ oz (20 g) each. These substantial quarters belong inside the bird, where they perfume the cavity without disappearing into a mince.

3. 3

   Build the truffled fat

   Pulse all the truffle peelings with the cold pork back fat in a food processor until they form a fine, evenly speckled paste, scraping the bowl as needed. Press the paste through a fine-mesh sieve. Melt one quarter of it, about ¼ cup (60 ml / 55 g), over the lowest heat with the bay leaf. Season the truffle pieces with the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, add them to the liquid fat, and cook for 10 minutes at the faintest sizzle, never letting them brown. Remove the bay leaf, cover the pan, and cool until the fat is barely fluid, then fold in the remaining truffled fat. If it becomes runny, stop. Ça se rattrape: set the covered bowl over ice and stir until the mixture thickens to a soft, spreadable paste.

4. 4

   Truffle the bird

   Spoon all the cooled truffle-fat mixture and its quartered truffles into the cavity without crushing the pieces. Slide two bacon slices over each breast, directly against the flesh. Arrange the reserved truffle slices on top of the bacon, immediately beneath the skin, and leave the ends of the bacon accessible near the neck opening so they can be withdrawn later. Smooth the skin back into place. Pin the cavity and neck skin closed with skewers, lace them with kitchen twine, then tie the legs and tuck the wing tips beneath the bird.

5. 5

   Wrap for roasting

   Spread the softened butter over two overlapping sheets of baking parchment. Set the pullet on top and wrap it closely, buttered side inward, with the seam beneath the bird. Tie the parcel in three places so the paper cannot lift. Place it breast-side up on a rack in a shallow metal roasting pan and pour ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the hot water beneath the rack. The parchment protects the breast while the dense filling heats through, doing the work once managed by careful turning before the fire.

6. 6

   Roast under paper

   Roast for 65 to 80 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the centre of the stuffing and the thickest part of the thigh both register about 160°F (71°C), with the thermometer touching neither bone nor the empty cavity wall. Add a little more hot water if the pan dries, but never pour it over the bird. The parchment will turn golden and the breast beneath it will remain pale. That is correct; its colour comes at the end.

7. 7

   Colour the breast

   Fifteen minutes before serving, remove the pan and switch the broiler to high. Cut away every scrap of parchment and twine. Reach through the neck opening with slim tongs and gently draw out the bacon strips, leaving the truffle slices beneath the skin. If a strip clings, ease it from side to side rather than pulling hard; the skin matters more than speed. Broil the pullet about 6 inches (15 cm) from the heat for 3 to 5 minutes, rotating the pan, until the breast turns deep butter-gold and the skin tightens. Confirm that both thigh and stuffing have reached at least 165°F (74°C). If the colour arrives first, turn off the broiler and finish at 400°F (200°C) until the temperature is safe. Rest the bird uncovered for the remaining 10 minutes.

8. 8

   Make the fat gravy

   While the pullet rests, pour the pan juices into a small saucepan. Add the remaining hot water to the roasting pan, scrape up every bronze patch of fond, and pour that into the saucepan with any juices collected beneath the resting bird. Bring it to a brief bubble, then strain it into a warmed gravy boat. Do not skim it lean; the source is quite deliberate that this gravy remains rather fat. If it tastes watery, reduce it for a minute. If it tastes too concentrated, loosen it with a spoonful of hot water.

9. 9

   Carve and serve

   Carry the whole burnished pullet to the table on a heated platter. Remove the skewers, open the cavity carefully, and spoon one or two truffle quarters beside each serving. Carve the breasts so the dark slices beneath the skin remain visible, then separate the legs at their joints. Pass the hot, glossy gravy separately and let each person take as much of its truffled fat as they please. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This dish truly needs ripe black winter truffles, Tuber melanosporum, with a perfume you can smell before the wrapping opens. Preserved truffles will supply dark slices but not the same fragrance. Outside their season, cook a poularde à la crème instead and wait for this dish to have its proper ingredient.
• •A true poularde is a fattened young hen, but a tender pullet or good small roasting chicken will carry the method honestly. Choose a plump bird with unbroken breast skin. Technique first, always.
• •Ask a butcher for fresh unsalted pork back fat. Leaf lard is too soft, cured fat is too salty, and rendered lard cannot hold the pounded peel in the same way. The peel worked through fresh fat is the dish, not an optional flourish.
• •Keep the truffles covered whenever they are waiting. Their perfume is volatile, and an uncovered plate scents the kitchen when it should be scenting the pullet.
• •Pour a mature white Burgundy or a restrained red Burgundy. Either has enough breadth for the pork fat and roasted bird without trampling the truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The truffled pork fat and cooked truffle quarters can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead, covered closely and chilled. Let the mixture soften only until spreadable before stuffing the bird.
• •The pullet can be truffled, closed, and wrapped up to 4 hours before roasting. Keep it refrigerated, then let it stand for 30 minutes before it enters the oven so the dense filling does not begin ice-cold.
• •Leftover poultry and truffle quarters keep for 2 days under refrigeration. Reheat them gently with a spoonful of the reserved fat gravy so the breast does not dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 335g)