by Julia Child
2) Poaching the chicken—1 hour and 30 to 40 minutes at 325 degrees
After chicken has been in the oven about 20 minutes, check casserole to be sure liquid is at the very slow simmer—if liquid bubbles actively, flesh can break apart. Regulate thermostat accordingly; except for making sure cooking is slow and gentle, you have nothing more to do until chicken is done.
When chicken flesh is tender if pressed and drumsticks move in their sockets, chicken should be ready. Test by lifting it carefully (use trussing strings between thighs and elbows) and drain juices onto a white plate; if last drops to come out are clear yellow with no trace of rose, chicken is definitely done.
3) The sauce—sauce à l’estragon—for 2½ cups
A sieve set over a 2½- to 3-quart stainless saucepan
4 Tb butter
A second 2½- to 3-quart saucepan, heavy-bottomed and enameled or stainless
5 Tb flour
A wooden spoon and a wire whip
When chicken is done and juices have been drained from vent, set it on a platter or side dish. Strain cooking stock into saucepan, pressing juices out of ingredients in sieve; skim surface fat off stock. Return chicken to casserole with a cup of the cooking stock, replace cheesecloth, set casserole cover askew, and keep chicken warm, either in turned-off oven, on a hot-tray, or over barely simmering water while you prepare a sauce velouté.
Bring cooking stock to the simmer, skimming off additional fat, and maintain at slow simmer while making the roux: melt butter in saucepan, blend in flour with wooden spoon, and stir over moderate heat until butter and flour foam together for 2 minutes without browning. Remove from heat, and as soon as roux stops bubbling, pour in 2 cups of the hot chicken stock, blending vigorously with wire whip. When smooth, return over moderate heat and stir rather slowly with wire whip as sauce thickens and comes to the boil. Boil, stirring, for 2 minutes—sauce will be quite thick.
½ to ⅔ cup heavy cream
Salt, white pepper, and drops of lemon juice
2 to 4 Tb soft butter
Simmering the sauce, pour in ⅓ cup of the cream, and add successive spoonfuls until sauce thins out but is still thick enough to coat a spoon nicely. Taste very carefully for seasoning, adding salt, white pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Just before serving, remove from heat and beat in the enrichment butter by spoonfuls.
4) Serving
A hot, lightly buttered serving platter
Either 10 to 12 large fresh tarragon leaves dropped 30 seconds in boiling water and laid on a plate;
Or slices of truffle or fluted and cooked mushrooms, and parsley or watercress if needed
A warmed sauce bowl
Remove trussing strings from chicken, and set it on platter; wipe up any juices. Spoon enough sauce over chicken to mask it attractively, and decorate with tarragon leaves or whatever you have chosen. Pour rest of sauce into bowl. Make a presentation of the chicken to your guests, who will want to admire it. Then, if it is not to be carved at the table, carve in the kitchen; arrange the pieces over a bed of rice, and spoon a little of the sauce over each. Decorate again with tarragon leaves or whatever you have chosen, and serve.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: You may keep the chicken warm for half an hour at least as suggested at the end of the first part in Step 3. Complete the sauce except for the final butter enrichment, clean sauce off sides of pan with a rubber spatula, and dot a tablespoon of soft butter on surface of sauce, spreading it lightly and evenly with the back of a spoon; keep sauce warm, uncovered, over simmering water.
TO SERVE COLD
Poularde en Chaud-froid—Poularde en Gelée
[Chicken in Chaud-froid—Chicken in Aspic]
The tender fragrant quality of chicken poached in white wine and the excellence of its cooking broth made it ideal for chaud-froid or simply chicken in aspic. For chaud-froid, you might use half the broth for an initial creamy coating on the chicken pieces following either the cream and egg-yolk sauce, or the recipe in Volume I, page 551, with cream and gelatin. You could then decorate the chicken with tarragon leaves, and glaze with clear aspic made from the rest of the broth. Full directions for chaud-froids are in this vo lume and in Volume I as indicated; see aspics in this volume, and page 549 in Volume I.
STUFFED CHICKEN—BONED CHICKEN
When you want to serve stuffed chicken, either roasted or poached, it is easier to carve it if you bone the breast of the raw chicken, meaning that you slit the skin and peel it back from the breast, remove the meat, and cut out the breastbone and upper half of the ribs. This gives you a boat-shaped trough; its bottom is formed by the backbone, and its sides by the lower ribs, the wings, and the legs. Pile the stuffing into the trough, top with breast meat cut into strips, fold the skin back into place, and the chicken is reconstituted again for cooking. To serve, cut right down the length of the breast to reveal white meat and stuffing, while the legs and wings come off in the usual way. Because white meat picks up flavor when in direct contact with the stuffing, most of the dark-meat-only people will shift over to “a little of both, please.” You will also find this semiboning a successful way to treat the enormous breasts of modern turkeys, and a turkey is boned exactly like chicken (see illustration).
VOLAILLE DEMI-DÉSOSSÉE
[Half-boned Chicken—also for Turkey, Other Poultry, and Game Birds]
Set chicken breast-up, and with a sharp knife, slit the skin from neck to tail, following ridge of breastbone. With your fingers, peel the skin back from the breast first on one side, then on the other, going down to the shoulders and the second joints to expose the whole expanse of breast.
Starting on one side of ridge of breastbone, cut through flesh to bone all along its length from neck end to tail. Always angling the cutting edge of knife against bone and not against flesh, continue cutting down against outward curve of breastbone and then against ribs, pulling flesh from bone with your fingers as you cut. Be careful not to slit skin at sides of breast as you release meat from lower rib cage; cut off the meat where it joins the ball joint of the wing at the shoulder, and you have removed one side of the breast meat. Remove the other side in the same manner.
With heavy shears and starting at the tail end, cut through the upper half of the breastbone-rib structure midway on each side, where the backward-slanting top ribs join the forward-slanting bottom ribs. Continue the cut through the V-shaped bone at the neck end, and the breastbone is freed.
With the breastbone removed, you now have a boat-shaped open cavity to fill with stuffing. The 2 boneless pieces of meat, one removed from each side of the breast, are called suprêmes, and each is composed of 2 layers. The larger layer is the filet; the smaller layer is the filet mignon. On the underside of each filet mignon is a clearly visible white tendon. Grasp the end of it in a towel held in one hand; slit flesh on either side with a small knife and, scraping it against your knife as you gently pull, draw it out; repeat for the second tendon.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you are not ready to stuff the chicken at this point, place the suprêmes in the cavity, draw the chicken skin over them, wrap the chicken, and refrigerate it. Chop up the breastbone and add it to your chicken stock.
When you are ready to stuff the chicken, cut the breast meat into strips ⅜ inch wide. (You may wish to marinate them in oil, herbs, and wine or drops of lemon juice, or in Cognac as suggested in the following recipe.)
Raise the legs upright, then flex them, pushing knees against armpits (where wings join shoulders). Run a skewer or knitting needle through the carcass at knees as shown; this will hold legs in place for the rest of the operation. Mound whatever stuffing you have chosen in the cavity, building it into a dome at the front to simulate a full breast. Lay the strips of breast meat over the stuffing.
Fold the breast skin over the stuffing and breast meat, covering it completely. One edge of skin should overlap the other by ⅜ to ½ inch; remove a little stuffing if necessary.
With white string and either an 8-inch trussing n
eedle, a long mattress needle, or a plastic knitting needle with a hole drilled in the end, truss the chicken.
1) Sew the 2 flaps of breast skin together as follows: start at the tail end, and leaving a 3-inch piece of string free at that end, stitch a straight line up to the neck. Turn the chicken over and sew the neck skin to the back, completely enclosing the stuffing at the neck end.
2) The second tie is to secure the lower part of the drumsticks and to close the vent opening. Push needle through the lower part of the carcass and the tail piece; come back through skin on top of one drumstick, through lower end of breast, and top of second drumstick. Pull string tight, and tie.
3) For the final tie, remove skewer, and go through carcass at the knees; fold wings akimbo and come back through the underside of one wing, through a bit of the backbone, then through the underside of the second wing. Pull string tight and tie.
Chicken is now ready for roasting, casserole roasting, or for the poularde poché, à la d’Albuféra, in the following recipe.
POULARDE À LA D’ALBUFÉRA
[Half-boned Chicken Stuffed with Foie Gras, Truffles, Chicken Livers, and Rice; Poached in White Wine; Sauce Suprême Pimentée]
One of the more famous chickens boned, stuffed, and poached in white wine is this one, created to honor Maréchal Suchet, who was made Duc d’Albuféra by a grateful Napoleon after the General’s victories in Spain. The dukedom, a large lagoon surrounded by rice fields with an outlet to the bay of Valencia, was lost in another battle the next year, 1813, but both duke and recipe retained their titles. Curiously enough, as a gastronomical aside to history, the grateful Spanish, in recognition of his role in returning the lost territories to them, awarded the revenues from the Albufera to the Duke of Wellington—perhaps at the very moment a famous filet of beef was being named after him. Numerous versions, as is always the way, exist for poularde à la d’Albuféra, and we have picked the one we prefer. Not all of them include a small pinch of saffron in the rice, but all do have a Spanish echo of pimento in the sauce.
The vegetable accompaniment should be fresh and simple, we think. Something like the parslied baked cucumbers in Volume I, page 500, or fresh new peas or asparagus tips, or the tender, peeled, fresh broccoli in the Vegetable Chapter. We prefer one of the great white Burgundies with this dish, or one of the lovely white Graves—Haut-Brion or La Mission-Haut-Brion.
For 6 people
1) Preparing the chicken
A 4½-lb. roasting chicken or capon
A dish to hold the strips of breast meat
1½ Tb each of dry port or dry (Sercial) Madeira, and Cognac
1 Tb very finely minced shallots or scallions
Freshly ground white pepper
Pinches of tarragon or thyme
1 or more 1-ounce cans of truffles
2 or more ounces canned foie gras en bloc (goose liver: read label on can), chilled for easy cutting
Following preceding directions, bone out the breast of the chicken. Cut breast meat into strips ⅜ inch wide and turn about in the dish with the wine, shallots, pepper, herbs, and the uncut truffles and their juice. Dipping your knife in hot water for each slice, cut the foie gras into ¼-inch dice; place at side of dish, and baste with the marinade. Cover marinade dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate while making the stuffing; wrap and refrigerate the chicken.
2) The stuffing—farce à la d’Albuféra—for about 3½ cups
The chicken liver and heart (If you have the minimum of foie gras, add an extra chicken liver.)
3 Tb butter
A heavy-bottomed, 2- to 2½-quart enameled or stainless saucepan with cover
A large mixing bowl
¼ cup very finely minced onion
1 cup plain, raw, white, untreated rice
¼ cup dry white wine or dry white French vermouth
1 ¾ cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
A small pinch of saffron threads
A bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cut the chicken liver or livers and heart into ¼-inch dice, and sauté over moderate heat in 1 tablespoon of the butter, just to stiffen them slightly; scrape into mixing bowl. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan, add the onions, and cook slowly, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes until fairly tender but not browned. Stir in the rice, and cook, stirring, for several minutes over moderate heat until rice turns translucent, then milky, indicating that the covering starch has coagulated. Pour in the wine and let cook for a moment to evaporate the alcohol.
Then pour in the chicken stock or broth, add the small pinch of saffron, the bay leaf, and bring to the simmer. Add salt and pepper as needed, stir up once, cover pan, and let cook at a moderately fast simmer, without touching it again, for 15 minutes. Rice should be almost but not quite done, needing only 2 to 3 minutes more cooking; liquid should have been entirely absorbed. Uncover pan, discard bay leaf, turn rice into mixing bowl, and let it cool to tepid. Stir in the egg.
Remove the truffles from their marinade, and cut into dice (or mince if you have only a small amount). Fold with a rubber spatula into the rice and chicken livers, and carefully correct seasoning. (Reserve the foie gras until next step.)
3) Stuffing and trussing the chicken
Salt cavity of chicken lightly, spread a layer of rice stuffing in it, and then a few pieces of the diced foie gras. Continue in layers, molding rice into a dome at the breast end. Cover with the breast strips, as illustrated, fold skin over breast, sew, and truss the chicken also as illustrated. (Reserve marinade juices.)
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If both stuffing and chicken are cold, you may stuff and truss the chicken a day in advance of cooking.
4) Poaching the chicken—1½ to 1¾ hours
Poach the chicken as directed in Steps 1 and 2, Master Recipe, here, but use a big pinch of thyme and a bay leaf rather than tarragon in the casserole.
5) The sauce
Make the sauce as described in Step 3 of the Master Recipe, but omit the tarragon, and stir the marinade liquid into it. Rather than enriching it with plain butter, use pimento butter as follows.
3 Tb canned red pimento
3 Tb soft butter
A fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl
A wooden spoon and a rubber spatula
Pinch of Cayenne pepper, or drops of Tabasco sauce
Drain the pimento and gently press out liquid. Rub it with the butter through the sieve, scraping all residue off bottom of sieve as well as banging sieve on bowl to dislodge as much as possible. Beat in Cayenne or Tabasco. Just before serving, remove sauce from heat and beat in the pimento butter, a tablespoon at a time.
6) Serving
When ready to serve, remove trussing strings and place chicken on platter. Spoon a little of the sauce over the chicken, and decorate as you wish, with truffle slices or fluted mushrooms. To carve, cut straight down through top of breast from neck end to tail end, and spread apart. Remove wings and legs. Remove breast meat with stuffing, using a serving spoon and fork, and give each guest both dark meat, light meat, and stuffing; spoon some of the sauce around or over each serving.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: See directions at end of Master Recipe.
OTHER STUFFINGS, OTHER SAUCES
Farce Évocation d’Albuféra
[Rice, Mushrooms, and Chicken-liver Stuffing with Purée of Garlic]
More Mediterranean in feeling than the original is the following stuffing for those occasions when you do not wish to indulge in truffles and foie gras.
For about 3½ cups, to fill a 4½-pound half-boned chicken
1 head of garlic
¼ cup dry white wine or dry white French vermouth
1 cup chicken stock or canned chicken broth
A small covered saucepan
Separate the garlic cloves and drop into a pan of boiling water, boil 1 minute, drain, and slip off the peel. Then simmer the garlic cloves very slowly for 30 minutes with the wine and stock
. Meanwhile, continue with the rest of the stuffing.
¼ pound fresh mushrooms, trimmed, washed, dried, and quartered (about 1 cup)
2 Tb minced shallots or scallions
1 Tb butter and 1 tsp oil
3 chicken livers, cut into ⅜-inch pieces
A heavy-bottomed 2½- to 3-quart enameled or stainless saucepan
¼ cup dry (Sercial) Madeira or dry port
A mixing bowl
Sauté the mushrooms and scallions in butter and oil over moderately high heat, tossing and turning, until fat reappears on surface of mushrooms; then add diced livers and sauté a minute more, tossing. Pour in the Madeira or port and boil rapidly until liquid is almost entirely evaporated. Scrape into mixing bowl.
2¼ to 2½ cups plain boiled white rice (¾ cup raw rice, boiled in salted water until barely tender)
¼ tsp thyme or oregano
1 egg, lightly beaten
The cooked garlic in its broth
A fine-meshed sieve
Salt and pepper to taste