Coulis de Grouse ou de Gelinotte à l’Ancienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8 L) heavy casserole with lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •High-speed blender or sturdy food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Flexible bowl scraper or small ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the formula

   Use Coulis de Grives au Pain Noir, otherwise à l’Ardennaise (No. 666) as the governing sequence: butter-fry the birds and bread, complete the birds’ cooking in feathered-game consommé, pound and sieve the bread liaison, add the second measure of consommé, boil and strain, then finish with butter and cream. For this variation, use two grouse or two hazel-hens, replace rye bread with ordinary white bread, and discard the legs and carcasses instead of pounding them.

2. 2

   Prepare the birds

   Run clean fingers over every bird, paying close attention around the breast and wing joints, and remove any shot, feather stubs, or damaged flesh. Pat the birds thoroughly dry and season them lightly inside and out. Wet skin spits and stews in the butter; a dry bird takes the quiet bronze needed to flavor the consommé.

3. 3

   Fry the bread

   Melt half the frying butter in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the white-bread dice and turn them patiently until every face is butter-gold, about 5 minutes. The bread is the liaison, the thickening element, so even frying matters: pale bread makes a pasty coulis, while scorched crumbs make it bitter. If a few cubes darken too far, remove them now. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Brown the birds

   Lift the fried bread onto a plate. Add the remaining frying butter to the casserole and brown the birds over medium-high heat, turning until the breasts and sides are a deep, even gold, about 7 minutes. Keep the heat lively enough for color but below the point where the butter solids blacken. If the butter begins to burn, move the birds to a plate, wipe out only the blackened fat, add a small fresh piece of butter, and continue.

5. 5

   Simmer with bread

   Return the fried bread to the casserole, arranging it beneath and around the birds. Pour in the 2⅜ cups feathered-game consommé and bring it just to a simmer. Cover, lower the heat, and hold the liquid at a bare tremble until the thickest part of each breast reaches 165°F / 74°C, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the birds once and stir gently around them so the bread does not catch on the pot floor.

6. 6

   Keep the good meat

   Lift the birds onto a board and let them stand until they can be handled. Remove the four breast fillets cleanly, cover them, and keep them warm. Discard the legs and carcasses exactly as the formula directs; do not scrape their dark meat or pound the bones into the soup. Cut the breast fillets across the grain into thin slices or a fine julienne and reserve them for the bowls.

7. 7

   Pound and sieve

   Lightly crush the two juniper berries, add them to the cooked bread and broth, and transfer the mixture to a blender. Vent the lid, cover it with a folded towel, and blend in short batches until completely smooth. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve with a ladle or flexible scraper. If it sits stubbornly in the sieve, loosen it with a spoonful from the second measure of consommé and work in small batches. Do not abandon the sieve; this is where the coulis earns its texture.

8. 8

   Boil and strain

   Return the sieved purée to the clean casserole and whisk in the remaining consommé. Bring it to one full boil, stirring across the bottom so the bread cannot catch, then immediately pass it through the clean sieve once more. The coulis should pour in a broad ribbon and coat a spoon without sitting on it like paste. If it is too tight, add warm consommé a tablespoon at a time; if it is thin, simmer it briefly before the final straining.

9. 9

   Finish the coulis

   Return the coulis to very gentle heat and stir in the warm cream. Remove the casserole from the heat, then whisk in the cold finishing butter a few pieces at a time until the surface turns satiny and the soup gains a soft gloss. Do not boil it again. If the butter separates into oily beads, whisk a tablespoon of warm consommé in a clean bowl and add the split coulis gradually. Ça se rattrape. Taste and add only as much salt as the consommé requires.

10. 10

    Garnish and serve

    Divide the reserved grouse or hazel-hen fillets among four warmed soup plates. Ladle the coulis around and over them, leaving a little meat visible at the center. Serve immediately while the butter emulsion still gleams. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a game dealer for oven-ready birds and still check them yourself for shot. Grouse is stronger and more mineral; gelinotte is smaller and gentler. Both belong here, but the finished coulis will speak in a different register.
• •Feathered-game consommé is the foundation, not decorative language. If it is unavailable, use a strong, clear, unsalted chicken consommé reduced by one-third before measuring. The result will be milder, and that difference should be admitted plainly.
• •Use ordinary white bread, preferably a day-old pain de mie or a plain close-crumbed loaf. Rye belongs to the related Ardennaise preparation and would pull this coulis away from the formula requested.
• •Two juniper berries are enough. Their work is to sharpen the woodland flavor at the edge, not perfume the whole bowl like a cupboard of gin.
• •A supple red Burgundy or a mature northern Rhône red suits the game and cream. Pour modestly with the first course, because the coulis is concentrated and wants the table’s attention.

Advance Preparation

• •The feathered-game consommé can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept chilled, or frozen well in advance. Bring it to a simmer before it meets the browned birds.
• •The coulis can be completed through the second straining up to 1 day ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow container, cover, and refrigerate the sliced breast meat separately.
• •Reheat the strained base slowly, add the reserved meat only long enough to warm, and finish with cream and cold butter just before serving. Once mounted with butter, the coulis should not be boiled or held for a long service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)