Forcemeat Balls or Quenelles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch wide sauté pan with lid or shallow metal tray
• •Wide saucepan for heating the poaching water
• •Two matching tablespoons
• •Heatproof cup for warming the spoons
• •Skimmer or wide slotted spoon
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Piping bag with a 3/4-inch plain tip, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the whole setup

   Butter a wide 12-inch sauté pan or shallow metal tray, then chill it until the butter firms. Put 8 cups (1.9 L / 1.9 kg) of the water and all the salt in a wide saucepan; bring it to 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), where the surface shivers without bubbling. Heat the remaining 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) of water in a cup for dipping the spoons. Keep the mousseline in the cold until the moment you shape it. Cold is its structure.

   If the surface of the mousseline looks oily or beads of cream appear, it has warmed. Set the bowl over ice for ten minutes and fold it gently once before testing.
2. 2

   Poach one test

   Dip two tablespoons in the hot water. Fill one with a small mound of mousseline, use the rounded back of the second to turn and smooth it into an olive, then lower it into the poaching water. Hold the water at a bare tremble until the test quenelle rises, swells, and feels softly firm, about 6 to 8 minutes. Its centre should reach 160°F (71°C). Cut it open: the interior should be fine-grained, moist, and evenly set. If it spreads, chill the mousseline for fifteen minutes and shape it on the cold buttered pan rather than piping or rolling it. If it turns rubbery, lower the water temperature and shorten the next poach. The cooked test cannot be softened, but the remaining batch can be saved. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Mould with two spoons

   Work with one 1/4-pound (113 g) portion at a time and keep the rest cold. Hold one warm, wet tablespoon in each hand. Fill the first, press the convex side of the second gently over the mousseline to smooth it, then pass the mixture between the spoons two or three times until it forms a large olive. Turn it onto the chilled buttered pan. Make 12 main-course quenelles, three for each serving, without packing or compressing them.

   Rolling belongs only to a stiff ordinary forcemeat, not a soft mousseline. On a floured board, roll it into a sausage, cut portions with a floured knife, and shape each piece to three times its width.

   For small quenelles, fit a piping bag with a plain tip and pipe short, evenly sized lengths onto the buttered pan. This is quick and particularly suited to fine soup garnishes.

   For the hand method, damp the fingers, form each portion into a kidney shape, and slide it off with a wet spoon. The original weighted string merely cut the forcemeat cleanly from the finger; the spoon performs the same job without a 2-pound weight hanging from the saucepan.
4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Pour the salted poaching water gently down the side of the buttered pan until the quenelles are abundantly surrounded but not crowded. Set the pan over low heat, cover it, and keep the liquid at 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C). Move the pan gently from time to time so nothing catches. Poach for 8 to 10 minutes, until the quenelles have swollen, risen toward the surface, and feel soft but resilient. Never let the water boil. If it does, pull the pan off the heat immediately, add a small splash of cold water, and return it over lower heat. If one quenelle begins to split, stop the heat and let the covered pan stand for two minutes before continuing more gently.

5. 5

   Drain or cool

   For immediate service, lift the quenelles with a skimmer, drain them briefly on a clean cloth, and place them directly into the hot finished sauce chosen for the menu. Warm them there without boiling and arrange three in each shallow bowl. If preparing them ahead, combine the cold water and ice, cool the poached quenelles completely, then drain them carefully on a cloth before covering and chilling. Handle them gently; a properly poached mousseline is tender by design. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The source begins with finished fish mousseline forcemeat and carries it through shaping and poaching, so this recipe keeps that boundary. Prepare the mousseline according to its own formula and chill it thoroughly before beginning; casual handfuls of flour make a loose mousseline heavy rather than sound.
• •The glossary's Mousselines are portions moulded in quantities sufficient for one person. Keeping the source's 1/4-pound working quantity gives each diner three generous quenelles while preventing the bowl from warming as you shape.
• •Two spoons give the softest forcemeat support without forcing extra flour into it. Their first purpose is portioning, their second is shaping. Smooth the surface, but don't knead the air out in pursuit of geometry.
• •The water should shiver, never boil. A hard simmer drives the fat and moisture from the emulsion, leaving a quenelle that is rough outside and tight within.
• •The source names no serving sauce, so none has been invented here. Move the poached quenelles into the finished sauce supplied by the dish they will join. With a fish preparation, a firm, mineral white Burgundy or Mâcon-Villages sits handsomely at the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The prepared mousseline can be held in the cold for up to 4 hours before shaping. Press parchment or reusable wrap directly against its surface and keep it at or below 40°F (4°C).
• •To work ahead, poach the quenelles completely, cool them in the ice water, drain them on a clean cloth, and refrigerate them covered for up to 24 hours.
• •Reheat cooked quenelles in their finished sauce over very gentle heat for 8 to 10 minutes. The sauce must not boil, or the quenelles will tighten at the moment they should be turning tender again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)