Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 Read online

¼ tsp thyme

  1 bay leaf

  Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to the simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.

  12 to 24 brown-braised onions

  ½ lb. sautéed mushrooms

  While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

  Salt and pepper

  Simmer the chicken cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off fat. Then raise heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2¼ cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat, and discard bay leaf.

  3 Tb flour

  2 Tb softened butter

  A saucer

  A rubber spatula

  A wire whip

  Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste (beurre manié). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

  Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it, and baste with the sauce.

  (*) If the dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered. It can now wait indefinitely.

  Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is hot through.

  Sprigs of fresh parsley

  Serve from the casserole, or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with sprigs of parsley.

  BROILED CHICKEN

  POULETS GRILLÉS À LA DIABLE

  [Chicken Broiled with Mustard, Herbs, and Bread Crumbs]

  Here is a fine method for broiled chicken which is good either hot or cold. The chicken is partially cooked under the broiler, then smeared with mustard and herbs, rolled in fresh bread crumbs, and returned to the broiler to brown and finish cooking. A practical attribute is that it can be almost entirely cooked ahead of time, set aside or refrigerated, and then finished off in the oven. With the mustard dip, a sauce is not a necessity. But if you want one, serve melted butter mixed with lemon juice and minced herbs, or sauce diable (herbal brown sauce with shallots and wine). Baked, whole tomatoes and green beans would go well with it, and a chilled rosé wine.

  For 4 to 8 people

  Preheat oven broiler to moderately hot.

  Two ready-to-cook, 2½-lb. broilers, halved or quartered

  A saucepan containing 6 Tb melted butter and 2 Tb oil

  A pastry brush

  A broiling pan minus rack

  Salt

  Dry the chicken thoroughly, paint it with butter and oil, and arrange it skin-side down in the bottom of the broiling pan. Place it so that the surface of the chicken is 5 to 6 inches from the hot broiling element and broil 10 minutes on each side, basting every 5 minutes. The chicken should be very lightly browned. Salt it lightly.

  6 Tb prepared mustard of the strong Dijon type

  3 Tb finely minced shallots or green onions

  ½ tsp thyme, basil, or tarragon

  ⅛ tsp pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper

  Blend the mustard with the shallots or onions, herbs, and seasonings in a bowl. Drop by drop, beat in half the basting fat to make a mayonnaiselike cream. Reserve the rest of the basting fat for later. Paint the chicken pieces with the mustard mixture.

  4 cups fresh, white crumbs from homemade-type of bread (make the crumbs in an electric blender, 3 or 4 slices of bread at a time)

  Pour the crumbs into a big plate, then roll the chicken in the crumbs, patting them on so they will adhere.

  A broiling pan with rack

  The rest of the basting fat

  Arrange the chicken pieces skin-side down on the rack in the broiling pan and dribble half the remaining basting fat over them. Brown slowly for 10 minutes under a moderately hot broiler. Turn, baste with the last of the fat, and brown 10 minutes more on the other side. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the drumstick is tender, and, when the meat is pricked with a fork, the juices run clear yellow.

  Transfer to a hot platter and serve.

  (*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTES

  If you wish to do most of the cooking in advance, brown the crumbed chicken under the broiler for 5 minutes only on each side. It then may be finished off several hours later, placed in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Do not allow it to overcook.

  CHICKEN BREASTS

  Suprêmes de Volaille

  Breast of chicken when it is removed raw from one side of the bird in a skinless, boneless piece is called a suprême. Each chicken possesses two of them. If the upper part of the wing is left on, the suprême becomes a côtelette. The breast of a cooked chicken is not a suprême, but a blanc de poulet, or white meat of chicken. A suprême may be poached in butter in a covered casserole à blanc, or sautéed or broiled with butter à brun. It is never, in good French cooking, simmered in a liquid. The suprême is an easy morsel to cook, but attention must be exercised to be sure it is not overdone, as even a minute too much can toughen the meat and make it dry. The flesh of a perfectly cooked suprême is white with the faintest pinky blush, its juices run clear yellow, and it is definitely juicy. Its point of doneness is easily determined as it cooks. Press the top of it with your finger; if it is still soft and yields slightly to the touch, it is not yet done. As soon as the flesh springs back with gentle resilience, it is ready. If there is no springiness, it is overcooked. As a suprême cooks in only 6 to 8 minutes and may be served very simply, it can make an exquisite quick meal.

  PREPARING THE SUPRÊMES FOR COOKING

  Choose whole or half breasts from a 2¼- to 3-lb. fryer. Slip your fingers between skin and flesh, and pull off the skin. Then cut against the ridge of the breastbone to loosen the flesh from the bone. Disjoint the wing where it joins the carcass and continue down along the rib cage, pulling flesh from bone as you cut until the meat from one side of the breast separates from the bone in one piece. Remove the wing. Cut and pull out the white tendon that runs about two thirds of the way down the under side of the meat. Trim off any jagged edges and flatten the suprêmes lightly with the side of a heavy knife. They are now ready for cooking. If they are not to be used immediately, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate.

  SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC

  [Breast of Chicken with Cream]

  Serve these with buttered asparagus tips, green peas, artichoke hearts, or creamed spinach, a good risotto cooked in chicken stock, and a bottle of chilled white Burgundy or Traminer.

  For 4 people

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  4 suprêmes (boned breasts from two fryers; see directions in paragraph preceding recipe)

  ½ tsp lemon juice

  ¼ tsp salt

  Big pinch white pepper

  A heavy, covered, fireproof casserole about 10 inches in diameter

  A round of waxed paper 10 inches in diameter and buttered on one side

  4 Tb butter

  Rub the suprêmes with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in the casserole until it is foaming. Quickly roll the suprêmes in the butter, lay the buttered paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press top of suprêmes with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done. Remove the suprêmes to a warm platter and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).

  For the sauce:

  ¼ cup white or brown stock or canned beef bouillon

  ¼ cup port, Madeira, or dry white vermouth

  1 cup whipping cream

  Salt and pepper

  Lemon juice as needed

  2 Tb fresh minced parsley

  Pour the stock or bouillon and wine into the ca
sserole with the cooking butter and boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste carefully for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the suprêmes, sprinkle with parsley, and serve at once.

  VARIATIONS

  Suprêmes de Volaille Archiduc

  [Chicken Breasts with Paprika, Onions, and Cream]

  This is a delicious combination, the onions giving the chicken and the sauce a subtle flavor, while the paprika lends fragrance and rosiness to the finished dish.

  ⅔ cup finely minced white onions

  5 Tb butter

  1 Tb fragrant red paprika

  ⅛ tsp salt

  Drop the minced onions into boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, run cold water over them, and drain again. Cook the onions with the salt, paprika, and butter in the covered casserole for about 10 minutes over very low heat until the onions are tender and translucent, but not browned.

  4 suprêmes and the sauce ingredients in the preceding master recipe

  Following the master recipe, cook the suprêmes in the onions, paprika, and butter. Remove when done, leaving the onions in the casserole. Complete the sauce, also as described in the master recipe.

  Suprêmes de Volaille à l’Écossaise

  [Chicken Breasts with Diced Aromatic Vegetables and Cream]

  The following vegetables cut into neat 1/16-inch cubes, making ⅔ to ¾ cup in all:

  1 medium carrot

  1 to 2 tender celery stalks

  1 medium white onion

  Cook the diced vegetables slowly with the salt and butter for about 10 minutes in the covered casserole until tender, but not browned.

  ⅛ tsp salt

  5 Tb butter

  4 suprêmes and the sauce ingredients in the master recipe

  Following the master recipe, cook the suprêmes in the vegetables and butter. Remove them when done, leaving the vegetables in the casserole. Complete the sauce, as described in the master recipe.

  Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons

  [Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream]

  5 Tb butter

  1 Tb minced shallot or green onion

  ¼ lb. diced or sliced fresh mushrooms

  ⅛ tsp salt

  Heat the butter in the casserole over moderate heat until foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and sauté a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and sauté lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.

  4 suprêmes and the sauce ingredients in the master recipe

  Following the master recipe, cook the suprêmes in the mushrooms and butter. Remove when done, leaving the mushrooms in the casserole. Complete the sauce, as described in the master recipe.

  SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BRUN

  [Chicken Breasts Sautéed in Butter]

  Here the chicken breasts are lightly dusted with flour and are sautéed in clarified butter. (Ordinary butter will burn and form black specks on the suprêmes. Clarified butter may be heated to a higher temperature before burning.) A good accompaniment for this dish would be grilled or stuffed tomatoes, buttered green peas or beans, and potato balls sautéed in butter. Serve with it a red Bordeaux-Médoc.

  For 4 people

  4 suprêmes (boned breasts from 2 fryers)

  ¼ tsp salt

  Big pinch of pepper

  1 cup flour spread on an 8-inch plate

  Just before sautéing, sprinkle the suprêmes with salt and pepper, roll them in the flour, and shake off excess flour.

  An 8- to 9-inch skillet

  6 to 8 Tb clarified butter (note that you will need ¼ cup more for your sauce)

  A hot platter

  Pour clarified butter into skillet to a depth of about 1/16 inch. Set over moderately high heat. When the butter begins to deepen in color very slightly, put in the suprêmes. Regulate heat so butter is always hot but does not turn more than a deep yellow. After 3 minutes, turn the suprêmes and sauté on the other side. In two minutes, press tops of suprêmes with your finger. As soon as they are springy to the touch, they are done. Remove to a hot platter, leaving the butter in the skillet.

  Brown Butter Sauce (Beurre Noisette)

  4 Tb clarified butter

  3 Tb minced parsley

  1 Tb lemon juice

  Add additional clarified butter to skillet and set over moderately high heat until the butter has turned a very light golden brown (a minute or two). Immediately remove from heat, sir in parsley and lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. Pour over the suprêmes and serve.

  VARIATIONS

  Brown Deglazing Sauce with Wine

  1 Tb minced shallot or green onion

  ¼ cup port or Madeira

  ⅔ cup brown stock or canned beef bouillon

  2 Tb minced parsley

  After removing the sautéed suprêmes, stir minced shallot or onion into skillet and sauté a moment. Then pour in the wine and stock or bouillon and boil down rapidly over high heat until liquid is lightly syrupy. Pour over the suprêmes, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

  Deglazing Sauce with Truffles

  1 minced canned truffle and the juice from its can

  Ingredients for the preceding brown deglazing sauce minus the parsley

  After sautéing the shallots or onions, as in the preceding master recipe, add the wine, stock or bouillon, and the truffle and its juice. Boil down liquid until syrupy, and pour over the suprêmes.

  Suprêmes de Volaille à la Milanaise

  [Chicken Breasts Rolled in Parmesan and Fresh Bread Crumbs]

  4 suprêmes (boned breasts from two fryers)

  ¼ tsp salt

  Big pinch of pepper

  1 cup flour spread on an 8-inch plate

  1 egg, ⅛ tsp salt, and ½ tsp olive oil beaten together in an 8-inch soup plate

  ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and ½ cup fine, white, fresh bread crumbs mixed together in an 8-inch dish

  Season the suprêmes with salt and pepper. One at a time, roll them in the flour and shake off excess. Dip in beaten egg. Then roll in the cheese and bread crumbs, patting them in place with the flat of a knife. Lay the suprêmes on waxed paper and allow cheese and bread crumbs to set for 10 to 15 minutes or several hours.

  Ingredients for brown butter sauce, master recipe

  Sauté on both sides in clarified butter until resilient to the pressure of your finger. Serve with brown butter sauce as described in the master recipe.

  DUCK

  Canard — Caneton

  Only the genuine duckling or caneton—a bird under 6 months old—is good for roasting. Fortunately that is the only kind of duck you are liable to find in any American market. It generally weighs 4½ to 5½ pounds ready to cook, has been beautifully plucked and cleaned, and is usually frozen, a state to which it takes much better than chicken. It needs only to be thawed out in the refrigerator or in a basin of cold, running water, and it is ready for cooking.

  A NOTE ON FRENCH DUCKS

  While American commercially raised birds are usually of one variety—the White Pekin—French ducks are of various breeds. These are: the nantais, which rarely weighs over 3 pounds and is the most common table duckling; the rouennais, famous as pressed duck; and the canard de barbarie, often older and always larger, which is used for braising.

  PREPARING A DUCK FOR ROASTING

  Pull out all loose fat from the cavity and from around the neck. To make the carving of the breast meat easier, cut out the wishbone. The lower part of the wing is mostly bone; chop it off at the elbow and add it to the stock pot. Be sure the fat glands on the back at the base of the tail have been removed; dig out any yellow residue that may remain, and rub the area with salt and lemon juice. To help the layer of subcutaneous duck fat to escape during cooking, prick the skin at ½-inch intervals along the thighs, the back, and the lower part of the breast. After seasoning the cavity, or stuffing it, sew or skew
er the legs, wings, and neck skin to the body so the bird will make a neat appearance on the table; see the illustrated directions for trussing a chicken which may be adapted for duck.

  DUCK STOCK

  The neck, heart, gizzard, and lower wings may be used for the making of a duck stock. Follow the same method as for chicken stock.

  CARVING NOTE

  Duck has far more carcass and far less meat than a chicken of the same weight; a 4½-pound duck will serve only 4 or 5 people. The French method of carving is to make as many thin slices of breast meat as possible, 4 to 6 per side, as follows: After the second joints and drumsticks have been removed, the duck is turned on its side, its tail facing the carver. Thin slices of meat are cut diagonally starting from the lower part of the breast nearest the tail and running toward the breastbone. The same system is used for the other side, cutting in the opposite direction.

  ROASTING TIMETABLE

  French taste is for ducks roasted to a medium rare—the juices run slightly rosy when the meat is pricked. If the duck is to be served well done, its juices should run clear yellow. Overcooked duck meat is brown, dry, and disappointing.