Brown Chaud-froid Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 8-quart wide, heavy-bottomed sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh chinois or sieve
• •Muslin or cheesecloth
• •Large stainless-steel bowl for cooling
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wooden skewer for marking the reduction
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Mark the reduction

   Pour 8½ cups (2 L) water into a wide, heavy sauté pan and mark its depth on a clean wooden skewer. Discard the water and dry the pan. This mark is the home cook's honest equivalent of the saucier's practiced eye: when the sauce reaches it, the combined half-glaze, truffle essence, and jelly will have reduced by a good third. Put three small saucers in the refrigerator for the consistency tests.

2. 2

   Start the brown base

   Combine the prepared half-glaze and truffle essence in the pan. Bring them to a controlled, active simmer over medium-high heat, the home equivalent of the source recipe's open fire. Reduce for about 10 minutes, skimming away any fat or grey foam that gathers on the surface. Keep the boil broad but orderly; a violent boil throws sauce up the sides and scorches the concentrated glaze.

3. 3

   Add jelly gradually

   Add the cubed aspic jelly in six or eight small batches, allowing each addition to melt and the sauce to return to its simmer before adding the next. Stir gently along the bottom with a heatproof spatula, especially near the corners, but don't whisk air into it. Once all the jelly is incorporated, continue reducing until the sauce reaches the mark on the skewer, about 45 to 60 minutes in all. The bubbles will grow slower and glossier as the sauce concentrates.

4. 4

   Test it cold

   Spoon 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) onto a chilled saucer and return it to the refrigerator for 2 minutes. Tilt the plate. The sauce should settle into a smooth, flexible film that holds its edge without becoming rubbery. If it runs, reduce the pan for another 5 minutes and test again. If it sets too firmly, take the pan off the heat and stir in hot water 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) at a time, testing after each addition. Ça se rattrape. The cold test, not the hot sauce's apparent thickness, is the final judge.

   Different prepared jellies carry different amounts of gelatin. The marked reduction brings you close, while the chilled saucer tells you exactly where your particular sauce stands.
5. 5

   Season and strain

   Remove the pan from the heat. Let a tasting spoon cool before checking the seasoning, then add salt only if the reduced sauce needs it. Stir in the Madeira or tawny Port away from the fire so its fragrance remains distinct. Immediately strain the sauce through a fine-mesh chinois or sieve lined with dampened muslin or two layers of damp cheesecloth. Let it pass without pressing; force makes a clear sauce cloudy.

6. 6

   Cool to coating point

   Set the strained sauce in a wide stainless-steel bowl over cool water and stir it gently every few minutes, scraping the base and sides so it cools evenly. Don't whisk. It is ready near 30 to 32°C (86 to 90°F), when a lifted spoon releases a broad ribbon and a chilled spoon emerges under one continuous coat. Too warm, it drains thinly; too cold, it forms ridges. If the edges begin to set before the center, place the bowl over barely warm water and stir until smooth, then cool it again.

7. 7

   Coat the cold food

   Set thoroughly chilled, very dry portions of cooked poultry, game, or meat on a wire rack over a tray. Ladle the chaud-froid over each portion from the center outward, or immerse smaller pieces and let the excess drain, aiming for one thin, even film. Refrigerate until the coat is firm, about 15 minutes. If the sauce thickens halfway through the work, warm the bowl briefly over barely warm water rather than forcing on a heavy coat. Hold the finished pieces cold until serving. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose half-glaze and aspic with restrained seasoning. Both become more concentrated as the sauce reduces, and two salty prepared products can leave no room for correction at the end.
• •Truffle essence here means pure jus de truffe, the savory liquid packed with preserved black truffles, or a comparable bottled truffle juice. Truffle-flavored oil is not an equivalent; it floats on the sauce and overwhelms the Madeira.
• •The aspic must be savory, clear, and firm enough to cut into cubes. Sweet jelly has no place here, and a weakly gelled stock will never give the chaud-froid its clean, supple coat.
• •Cold food must also be dry. Moisture trapped beneath the sauce makes it slide, bead, or leave bare patches, so blot every portion carefully before coating.
• •For a smaller gathering, halve every measured ingredient and use a narrower pan. Keep the 10:1:7.5 ratio of half-glaze to truffle essence to aspic, and still reduce the combined sauce by a good third.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Divide it between shallow covered containers and refrigerate promptly; it will set firmly in the cold.
• •To reuse chilled sauce, melt it gently over a bain-marie or the lowest heat, stirring until completely smooth. Never boil it again. Cool it back to coating consistency and repeat the chilled-saucer test.
• •Food may be coated 4 to 6 hours before serving. Let the surface set uncovered first, then cover without allowing wrapping to touch the glaze and keep it refrigerated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 110g)