Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (110 page)

[Chicken Pieces Poached in White Wine, Herbs, and Aromatic Vegetables]

This very simple, basic poach can be even simpler if you are on a fat-free diet: rather than cooking the vegetables in butter, simmer them 15 minutes in chicken stock before you add the chicken and the wine. Butter does seem to
bring out more of their flavor, however. Because the vegetables cook along with the chicken and are served with it you could precede or follow the chicken with fresh artichokes or asparagus. You then need nothing more for the chicken course than steamed rice, a parsley garnish, and either more of the same white wine that cooked with the chicken, or a red Bordeaux, or a rosé.

For 4 people

1)
Sautéing the vegetables

2 medium-sized carrots

1 medium-sized onion and the white part of 1 leek (or 2 onions)

3 medium-sized celery stalks

3 Tb butter

A heavy 3-quart flameproof casserole with cover (such as a round terra cotta one, 9 by 3 inches, set on an asbestos mat)

(This step is optional: see preceding paragraph.) Peel the carrots and onion; quarter leek lengthwise and wash; trim and wash celery. Depending on what effect you want, cut the vegetables either into thin slices or into julienne matchsticks 1½ inches long. Cook slowly with the butter in the covered casserole over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender but not browned—about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chicken, Step 2.

2)
Poaching the chicken

2½ lbs. ready-cut frying chicken, washed, dried, and trimmed, if you wish, according to directions preceding this recipe

Salt

1½ cups dry white wine, or 1 cup dry white French vermouth

About 2 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth

The following herbs tied in washed cheesecloth:
Either
½ tsp tarragon;
Or
½ imported bay leaf, ¼ tsp thyme, and 4 parsley sprigs

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees if you wish to use it. Prepare the chicken for cooking, salt lightly, and arrange in the casserole, spreading the cooked vegetables around and over it. Cover casserole and let chicken sweat for 10 minutes over moderate heat, turning it once. (Omit this step if you are not sautéing vegetables in butter.) Then pour in the wine or vermouth and enough chicken stock or broth barely to cover the chicken. Bury the herb packet in the chicken, and bring casserole to the simmer. Taste, and salt lightly if necessary.

Cover the casserole and regulate heat to maintain liquid at a slow, quiet simmer either on top of the stove or in a preheated 325-degree oven. (
NOTE
: Poaching means slow cooking, so that chicken pieces will retain their shape, and will be tender; boiling not only toughens the meat, but also warps its contour.) Dark meat of chicken
will take 20 to 25 minutes; light meat, probably 5 minutes less and should be removed when done, if you have mixed dark and light together. Juices, when either dark or light meat is pricked deeply, should run clear yellow, with no trace of rose, and meat should feel tender when pierced. Do not overcook, however.

3) Serving

Tilt casserole and skim off surface fat; taste liquid and correct seasoning. Discard herb bouquet. Either serve directly from casserole, or arrange the chicken and vegetables on a bed of steamed rice, decorate with parsley, and pass the cooking liquid separately.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE:
If you aren’t ready to serve, chicken will keep perfectly for a good hour. Skim off surface fat, and correct seasoning, then set casserole cover slightly askew for air circulation; keep warm in a 120-degree oven, on a hot-tray, or over barely simmering water.

VARIATIONS

Stewing Chicken—Fowl

A fine stewing chicken 10 to 12 months old, as it is supposed to be when you buy from a reputable market, does beautifully when poached in white wine. Use the same general system as in the preceding Master Recipe with the following slight changes.

If the chicken has not been cut up for you and you wish to do so yourself, follow the
directions for goose
. Reserve neck, back, gizzard, and heart as well as all scraps; place them in the bottom of the casserole to cook along with the chicken and give additional flavor to the broth. Mature chickens have much more flavor than young fryers, and you need only wine and water for the cooking stock. Stewing time will be about 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender when pierced with a knife. Because the vegetables will have cooked this length of time, they will not be of further use; if you want vegetables to cook and serve with the chicken, add a fresh batch before end of cooking time.

Serve the chicken on a bed of steamed rice or
risotto,
and you may turn its cooking stock into a cream sauce as suggested for
whole poached chicken
or one of its
variations
. You may gratiné the
chicken in cheese sauce
, as in the recipe, or change the seasonings altogether by simmering the chicken in
bouillabaisse
flavorings
.

Poulet en Gelée

[Chicken
in Aspic]

Chicken poached in white wine makes delicious chicken in aspic, and you may be as elegant as the formal recipe in Volume I, page 549, where the
chicken is arranged on an aspic-lined platter; each piece is coated with aspic and tarragon leaves, chopped aspic fills in the empty spaces, and aspic cutouts abound. On the other hand, you may be much less formal and just as attractive but in a different way, with either of the two following arrangements. (
NOTE
: In neither of these is the cooking stock clarified—rendered clear and sparkling with egg whites; if you wish to clarify it, however, directions are in Volume I, page 111.)

A sieve set over a saucepan

A quart measure

Chicken broth if needed 1½ packages (1½ Tb) plain, unflavored, powdered gelatin

Salt and pepper

Set cover askew over casserole and drain out cooking liquid into the saucepan. Skim off surface fat and pour liquid into quart measure; skim again, and pour in additional stock, if necessary, to make 3 cups. Return liquid to saucepan, sprinkle on the gelatin, and let it soften for several minutes. Then stir over moderate heat until gelatin has completely dissolved and liquid is free of gelatin granules. Taste, and correct seasoning.