Soupe aux Abatis de Volaille à l’Anglaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5-quart heavy-bottomed pot with lid
• •Sturdy poultry shears or small cleaver
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small saucepan
• •Small frying pan
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the abatis

   Ask the butcher to cut each neck crosswise into three pieces, or do it on a nonslip board with a small cleaver. Never force a chef’s knife through bone. Quarter each cleaned gizzard and divide each pinion into two pieces through its joint. Pat everything thoroughly dry. Moisture turns the first minutes in the pot into a poach, and the soup needs a dark golden fond, the browned glaze on the pot floor.

   Use necks, gizzards, and pinions only. Set the liver and heart aside for another preparation; liver would cloud the broth and overwhelm its clean poultry flavor.
2. 2

   Brown the abatis

   Melt 2 tbsp of the browning butter in a heavy pot over medium heat. When its foam subsides, add the abatis in a single uncrowded layer, working in batches if necessary. Brown every cut face to a deep hazelnut color, turning only when each piece releases readily; add the remaining tablespoon of butter if the pot grows dry. If the butter threatens to blacken, lift the pot from the heat at once and lower the flame. Black specks taste bitter, so wipe out a scorched pot and resume with fresh butter rather than carrying that bitterness into three hours of broth.

3. 3

   Singer and moisten

   Return all the browned abatis to the pot. Singer, dust them evenly with the flour, then stir over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until the flour loses its raw smell and takes the faintest blond color. Pour in about one-third of the white consommé or clear stock while scraping every bit of fond from the bottom, then add the remaining consommé and the water. If the flour gathers into small lumps, whisk the liquid firmly and carry on; the broth will be strained later. Ça se rattrape.

   Color the flour lightly, not darkly. The soup should carry the bronze depth of browned poultry while remaining clear enough to show the rice and celery.
4. 4

   Simmer three hours

   Add the bouquet garni and bring the liquid just to a simmer. Lower the heat until the surface barely trembles, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook gently for 3 hours. Check occasionally and add a little boiling water if the pieces are no longer covered. A hard boil breaks fat and flour through the broth, leaving it cloudy and greasy. At three hours, a knife should pass easily through a gizzard quarter; if it still resists, give it another 20 to 30 minutes. Tough gizzard means unfinished cooking, not a failed soup.

5. 5

   Strain and trim

   Lift the abatis into a bowl and discard the bouquet garni. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot without pressing the solids, then skim away any broad pools of fat. When the poultry is cool enough to handle, remove loose bones, cartilage, skin, and tough membrane. Keep the gizzard quarters and neat morsels of neck and pinion meat. Measure the strained liquor: reduce it gently if you have more than 8 cups, or add enough boiling water to restore it to about 8 cups if evaporation carried it too far.

6. 6

   Prepare the garnishes

   Boil the rinsed rice in a small saucepan of water for 5 minutes, then drain it well. This parboiling washes away loose surface starch so the final broth stays clear. Meanwhile, melt the celery butter in a small pan over medium-low heat and fry the minced pale celery for 3 to 4 minutes, until supple and glossy but not browned. The celery should keep its fresh edge beneath the butter.

7. 7

   Finish the soup

   Put the trimmed abatis, parboiled rice, and butter-fried celery into the clean pot and pour over the strained liquor. Hold at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender but still distinct. Season strongly with black pepper, then taste before adding salt because consommé may already carry enough. If the rice has taken more broth than expected, loosen the soup with a little hot stock or water. Ça se rattrape. Ladle into deep bowls with the meat and rice shared generously among them. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a poultry butcher for necks, cleaned gizzards, and outer wing sections, or save them from several birds in the freezer until you have enough. Technique first, always. These modest pieces contain bone, connective tissue, and concentrated poultry flavor that boneless meat cannot give the broth.
• •White consommé gives the cleanest, most polished result. For the home equivalent, choose a clear, unsalted or low-sodium chicken stock without tomato, roasted garlic, or heavy herbs. Chill and skim homemade stock before using it.
• •Check each gizzard after cleaning. Peel away any tough yellow lining and trim heavy silver membrane, but leave the firm muscle intact; three hours at a bare simmer turns that muscle tender without robbing it of character.
• •Pepper is not a timid finishing dust here. Add enough freshly ground black pepper for its warmth to remain evident after the rice and celery enter, then pass the mill at the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The abatis may be browned, simmered, trimmed, and strained a day ahead. Cool the meat and broth promptly in separate shallow containers, refrigerate, then remove the set surface fat before reheating.
• •Prepare the rice and butter-fried celery shortly before serving. Holding rice overnight in the broth makes it swell and steals the soup’s clear, generous liquor.
• •The strained broth and trimmed meat can be frozen separately for up to one month. Thaw them in the refrigerator, bring the broth back to a simmer, then complete the final fifteen-minute cooking with fresh rice and celery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)