Poulet Forestieres Recipes

POULET DE GRAND-MERE

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt. In a large saute pan, heat enough clarified butter to coat the pan over medium-high heat. Add half the thyme and continue to heat. Place 2 of the chicken breasts in the pan skin-side down and sear until golden brown, basting the flesh side with fat from the pan. Flip the breasts, brown on the other side and baste. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet. Cook the other 2 breasts in the same manner, adding in the remaining thyme sprigs.
• Place the baking sheet with the seared breasts in the oven and bake until the chicken is firm to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. Allow to rest before slicing.
• For the just: While the chicken is in the oven, pour off any excess fat in the saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Add enough clarified butter to coat the bottom of the pan and add the bacon lardons. Cook until crispy, and then remove to a plate and reserve. Remove any excess fat from the pan if necessary. Add in the onions and sweat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat, add in the mushrooms and season with salt. Cook the mushrooms until golden brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add in the white wine and scrap up all the brown bits that have collected on the bottom of the pan. Cook down until the wine has reduced by half. Add in half of the chicken stock and let simmer about 5 minutes. Add in the remaining chicken stock and reduce until slightly thickened Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter. Taste and season if necessary.
• Serve the sliced chicken with the jus and garnish with chopped parsley.

GRATINEED CHICKEN IN CREAM SAUCE (POULET à LA FERMIERE)

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat butter in a 12-inch ovenproof deep heavy sauté pan over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken all over, in batches if necessary, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.
• Tie parsley, thyme, and bay leaf in cheesecloth to make a bouquet garni, then add to pan with carrots and onions, stirring to coat with fat. Add wine and deglaze by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add broth and chicken, skin sides up, with any juices from plate, and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add potatoes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat broiler.
• Discard bouquet garni. Stir in crème fraîche, peas, and salt and pepper to taste, then turn chicken in sauce to coat. Sprinkle dish all over with Gruyère and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until browned and sauce is bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes.

POULET FORESTIERES

Steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in shallow dish. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden on outside and no longer pink inside. Remove and keep warm.
• Add 1 teaspoon butter to the pan. Add bacon/ham pieces as well as the shallots or onions and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes or until softened and browned. Add remaining 1 tablespoon flour and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.
• Pour in stock, wine and cognac and bring to boil, stirring. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low, stir in parsley or chives and whipping cream. Season and return chicken to pan and simmer until mashed potatoes are ready to plate, stirring occasionally.
• While chicken is simmering, place the potato in a pan of cold water, boil then simmer until you can pierce with a fork. Drain. Using a potato masher, slowly add the butter, milk and sage and mix until smooth and creamy. You may not need all of the butter or milk, depending on your potato and how it mashes.
• Put a dollop of mashed potato in the centre of each plate and arrange the chicken around it. Pour the sauce over and serve.

POULET FARCI TRUFFIERE

Steps:

• Dry chicken and place 2 truffles inside. Slice remaining truffle very thinly. Carefully slide slices under the skin of the chicken. Cover the bird with waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle Madeira over bread pieces. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and bread to the pate. Mix until smooth. Remove the truffles from the cavity of the chicken. Slice them thinly and add to the pate mixture. Stuff the bird with the combined mixture. Pin and truss the bird, securing the flesh with poultry pins and the wings and legs with string. Season breast with salt and pepper. Lay bacon over the bird to keep it moist.
• Roast bird on baking dish for 1 hour. Remove bacon and reserve for garnish. Cook bird for 15 minutes more. Remove string, transfer to serving platter and arrange garnish around it.

POULET A LA SAUCISSE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
• In a skillet over medium heat, break apart the sausage and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
• In a bowl, mix sausage with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg yolk, oregano, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Place equal amounts of the sausage mixture on each chicken breast. Fold breasts tightly over the filling and secure with toothpicks. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Brush with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs to coat.
• Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken juices run clear.

POULET A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Season flour with salt and pepper; coat chicken pieces with seasoned flour.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken pieces in skillet; cook, turning once, to brown on both sides, about 6 minutes.
• Stir in shallots, onions, and garlic; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and wine; bring to a boil. Then stir in saffron, curry powder, sugar, raisins, and salt and pepper. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

SAUCE FORESTIERE (WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE)

Steps:

• Coarsely chop mushrooms; there should be about 2 cups of each.
• Bring enough water to cover mushrooms to boil and add salt to taste. Add mushrooms and cook about 1 minute. Drain immediately. Put mushrooms in cheesecloth and squeeze to extract most of liquid.
• Put mushrooms into the container of food processor or electric blender and blend as fine as possible. There should be about 1/2 cup.
• Melt butter in saucepan and add mushrooms. Cook briefly and add cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Let simmer 5 minutes. Serve with roast meats, poached eggs, steamed fish, broiled chicken or roast rack of lamb (see recipe).

POULET DE PROVENCAL

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Mix 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic in a bowl and stir chicken breast halves into the mixture to coat. Transfer chicken with marinade into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink inside, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.
• Pour 1/3 cup chicken stock into skillet and stir to dissolve browned bits of food from the skillet. Cook and stir shallot and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup chicken stock, herbes de Provence, and 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown in color, about 2 minutes.
• Return chicken breasts to pan and top each with 1/2 slice of provolone cheese. Cover skillet and let cheese melt; serve with mushrooms.

POULET à LA NORMANDE

Steps:

• Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels, and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a large Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, skin side down until deep golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then flip, and sear the other side until golden, another 3 minutes.
• If flambéing: Make sure there is nothing flammable near or above your stove. Gently warm the Calvados in a saucepan over medium heat. When the chicken is well browned, protect your hand, and use a long kitchen match to light the liquor on fire, then carefully pour it into the chicken pan. The flame can shoot over 2 feet high, so be careful. Cook until the flame subsides. If not flambéing: Once the chicken is browned, turn off the heat, and add the Calvados. When the sizzling subsides, turn the heat on to medium low, bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
• Add the cider and onions, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer. Quickly peel and core the apples, and cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and place them on top of the chicken. Cover the pan, and cook, checking occasionally to ensure the liquid is maintaining a gentle simmer, not boiling, until the chicken is just cooked through, 35-40 minutes.
• Remove the chicken, onions and apples to a platter, and cover. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir this into the braising liquid, and bring to a simmer for 1 minute, until thickened. Stir in the crème fraîche, and season the sauce with salt to taste, replace the chicken, onions and apples in the sauce and serve with crusty bread and a salad.