Chef Juliette
Ordinary Royale
Royale ordinaire turns clear consommé and chervil into a tender, jewel-cut custard: gentle heat keeps it silken, full cooling keeps every diamond neat, and one small mould serves four bowls beautifully.
Culinary Explorer
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Chicken Royale
Created by Chef Juliette
Royale de volaille turns cooked chicken, cold béchamel, cream, and eggs into a silken savory custard, gently poached, cut into pale diamonds, and floated in clear consommé.
Soups & Stews
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
35 min cook•2 hr total
YieldAbout 2 quarts, 8 first-course servings
Royale de volaille (a poached chicken custard) teaches one exact principle: an egg-thickened mixture becomes silk only under gentle heat. Before touching a pan, know this: the bain-marie must barely tremble. Boiling water makes holes and whey where a clean ivory custard should be.
The brigade entry assumed cooked white chicken at hand, cold Béchamel from the saucier, consommé from a stockpot never off the fire, a tammy sieve, and shelves of molds. At home, one small food processor replaces the pounding mortar, a fine-mesh sieve replaces the tammy, and one shallow cake pan replaces a procession of individual molds. The salamander has no job here; this royale is poached, not browned. We have removed the brigade's multiplicity of equipment, not the pounding, straining, or slow poach. Those three steps are the dish.
When it is right, the royale cuts cleanly yet yields under the spoon, pale and delicate against amber consommé. One cook, one stove, one evening. Give your full attention to the water bath, keep it below a simmer, and the custard will hold.
Royale garnishes belong to the Parisian grand-kitchen service of clear consommés, where savory custards flavored with poultry, vegetables, or game were poached in molds and cut into precise pieces. The preparation traveled from elaborate dining rooms to bourgeois tables because it gave leftover cooked meat a graceful second service without clouding the broth. Chicken royale is sometimes mistaken for a cream soup, but it is the garnish: the consommé remains clear while the pale custard supplies richness and contrast.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cooked white chicken meat
Quantity
½ packed cup (85 g / 3 oz)
skin and sinew removed
cold Béchamel
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / about 45 g)
fine salt
Quantity
⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / about 0.8 g)
freshly grated nutmeg
Quantity
1 small pinch (about 1/32 teaspoon / less than 0.1 g)
cold heavy cream
Quantity
Scant ½ cup (115 ml / about 115 g)
large egg
Quantity
1
large egg yolks
Quantity
3
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
softened, for the mold
clear chicken consommé
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 L / about 1.9 kg)
heated for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cooked white chicken meatskin and sinew removed | ½ packed cup (85 g / 3 oz) |
| cold Béchamel | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / about 45 g) |
| fine salt | ⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / about 0.8 g) |
| freshly grated nutmeg | 1 small pinch (about 1/32 teaspoon / less than 0.1 g) |
| cold heavy cream | Scant ½ cup (115 ml / about 115 g) |
| large egg | 1 |
| large egg yolks | 3 |
| unsalted buttersoftened, for the mold | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
| clear chicken consomméheated for serving | 8 cups (1.9 L / about 1.9 kg) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small food processor or large mortar and pestle
- •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible bowl scraper
- •6-inch (15 cm) shallow round cake pan or 2-cup mold
- •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the bain-marie
Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Butter a 6-inch (15 cm) shallow round cake pan or similar 2-cup mold very thinly, reaching into every corner. Place a folded kitchen towel in a roasting pan and set the mold on it; the towel steadies the mold and softens the heat beneath it. Heat enough water to come halfway up the mold, stopping just short of a boil.
- 2
Pound the chicken
Put the cooked white chicken in a small food processor and work it until very finely broken down, scraping the bowl several times. Add the cold Béchamel one tablespoon at a time and continue processing until the mixture becomes a close, even paste. Do not settle for minced chicken. Pounding the fibers into the sauce is what separates a silken royale from a crumbly chicken pudding.
If the chicken gathers beneath the blade, stop and scrape rather than adding extra cream. The source ratio supplies enough liquid once the paste is properly worked. - 3
Season and strain
Transfer the chicken paste to a bowl and add the salt and nutmeg. Work in the cold cream gradually, stirring until each addition disappears before adding the next. Force the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper. This replaces the tammy, a broad cloth sieve used by the brigade, and it is not decorative fuss; the sieve removes the last fibers that would interrupt the custard. If the mixture refuses to pass, return the coarse portion to the processor with one spoonful of the strained base, work it again, and repeat. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Add the eggs
Whisk the whole egg and three yolks just until blended, without beating in a foam, then stir them thoroughly into the strained chicken mixture. Pour the preparation into the buttered mold and tap it once against a folded towel to release large air pockets. Prick any surface bubbles with the point of a knife. Air whipped into the base expands into holes, so use a calm whisk and a calm hand.
- 5
Poach it gently
Cover the mold loosely with foil and pour the hot water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set, the center gives one soft quiver, and an instant-read thermometer reaches 160°F (71°C). The bain-marie should remain still or barely tremble. If the water begins bubbling or the custard puffs at the edge, pull out the roasting pan, replace a cup of hot water with cool water, and lower the oven to 275°F (135°C). Ça se rattrape if you act before the custard turns grainy.
- 6
Cool and cut
Lift the mold from the bain-marie and let the royale cool for 20 minutes, then chill it for at least 40 minutes so it can be cut cleanly. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert it onto a board. If it clings, dip the base of the mold in warm water for five seconds and try again. Cut the royale into ½-inch (1.25 cm) diamonds or small cubes, keeping the knife clean between cuts.
- 7
Float in consommé
Bring the clear chicken consommé to a bare simmer in a separate saucepan and warm the soup bowls. Arrange four or five pieces of royale in each bowl, then ladle the consommé gently around them and let them warm for one minute. Never boil the royale in the broth; hard heat toughens the egg and frays the clean edges. Serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The source calls for cooked white chicken, and that choice matters. Use breast meat that was gently poached or roasted without a dark crust, strong herbs, or smoke; dry, aggressively browned leftovers make a coarse and muddied royale.
- •The Béchamel must be cold before it meets the eggs. A warm sauce starts setting them before the mold reaches the bain-marie, leaving small curds no sieve can remove later.
- •Pressing the mixture through the sieve is the labor of the dish. Use a sturdy flexible scraper and work in small portions; the paste should emerge smooth, moist, and free of visible chicken fibers.
- •A dry Champagne or a restrained white Burgundy suits the clear broth and delicate custard. Keep the wine brisk rather than heavily oaked, so the first spoonful still tastes of chicken.
Advance Preparation
- •The Béchamel and chicken consommé can be prepared a day ahead and chilled separately. Cool both promptly, cover them well, and keep the Béchamel cold until the royale mixture is assembled.
- •Poach the royale up to two days ahead, cool it promptly, and refrigerate it covered in its mold. Unmold and cut it close to serving so the edges remain moist and neat.
- •Reheat the consommé separately and add the cold royale pieces only after they are arranged in warm bowls. Freezing is poor treatment here; the custard releases water and loses its fine texture when thawed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 280g)
Calories
135 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
125 mg
Sodium
980 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
11 g
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