Pulled By The Poulet
The French love their chicken. When I think of French cuisine, I imagine quiche and wine and dark stews; but most of all I think of chicken. Whole roasted birds, hacked up thighs, broth made from leftover carcass. Chicken in butter, chicken in wine, chicken smothered in onions. It’s easily the most versatile meat for any cook to play with; and the French do not disappoint! For anyone trying to blossom from playing in the kitchen to really cooking, the best (and easiest) part of the chicken to start trying new things on is a juicy chicken breast. (Julia Child played around with a lot of chicken on her show back in the day and watching her say the word “juicy” through some 1960s sound equipment always makes me laugh).
You probably already know a good chicken breast when you see one, but in case you don’t, an individual, boneless breast, should be just enough for one to two servings depending on size. It should be pink, mostly free from fat and sinew, and no more than a three-quarters to a pound on its own. Anything heavier and covered with globs of chicken fat wasn’t from a chicken that was taken care of, nor was it fed with a natural diet. (A point to note, chickens in the US overall tend to be a little bigger than their European cousines, but that doesn’t mean that bigger is necessarily better).
As I mentioned, the French adore their chicken. So much so that they take the uncouth word “breast” and call the separated flesh a supreme. Chicken boobies, when cooked right, are in fact supreme — especially in a French fashion! Julia Child’s book, Mastering The Art Of French Cooking, does this thing where it has a slew of “master recipes” and then happy variations immediately following. For Supremes de Volaille, or cooked chicken breast, her master recipe requires a cast-iron, enameled Dutch oven; some happy little chicken breasts, waxed paper, and a TON of butter. *French accent* Mais, oui! What else is there?! Her recipe is laid out for some petite French supremes and doesn’t take into account the busty American chickens of today. Here are my proportions:
- 2 fresh chicken breasts (dried thoroughly)
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Healthy pinch each of salt & pepper
- 2 Tb butter
- Round of waxed paper (cut to shape of Dutch oven) buttered with 1 Tb butter first step is to dry your chicken, thoroughly. When I first started cooking out of this book, I didn’t know why that was important, but upon further cooking, I learned that the meat takes on flavor better — no matter how it’s cooked — when it’s first dried with paper towels. Let your dry, but still so juicy inside, chicken rest on the side. From here, you melt about a pound (really just 3-ish tablespoons of butter) into your Dutch oven. While it bubbles, season your chicken. Julia calls for S&P and drops of lemon juice, no arguments here! Once your butter has quit bubbling and smells almost nutty, place your chicken inside, smooth side down. You roll those around for a few minutes just so you absorb all of that cholesterol, ending with the soft side up. To this, you top a piece of rounded waxed paper, generously spread with room temp butter, secured the lid, and place the Dutch oven into a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Once it’s done (and you know that it is when it’s pressed with your finger it slightly springs back, or when pricked in the fattest part, the juices run clear or yellow), you take the chicken out of the pot, and in the rendered fat and butter, you make a sauce.
I’ve done this based recipe so many times that it’s like second nature to me. From here, you can add any extra spices you’d like, vary the sauce around; slice the chicken, serve it whole; make a salad because you’re quilty about some much butter, whatever you’d like. Most recently, I played on the best cooking combinations I knew: garlic, onion, and mushrooms! Tres francais! I took roughly half of a yellow onion, chopped it up, three cloves of garlic, and about half a pack of mushrooms; sprinkled my S&P and lemon juice on the chicken with curry powder and rosemary; cut the butter with some olive oil in the pot (but never on the waxed paper!); and made a red wine sauce FOR THE GODS! Here’s what I did:
Following the prep above for chicken, subbing 2 Tb butter for 1 Tb butter, 2 tsp — 1 Tb olive oil
- ½ tsp curry powder (sprinkled chicken w/ lemon juice, S&P)
- ½ tsp rosemary
- ½ yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 4 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
For the sauce:
- 1–2 tsp sifted flour
- ½ cup red wine (best if a Beaujolais or Red-Chardonnay mix, but Cabernet can work if you like to deep flavor)
- 2 cloves
- Optional: ¼ red pepper flakes
- S&P to taste
After the butter melted, and bubbled, I threw the onions in first and cooked until they were translucent but still firm. Next my garlic and stirred around until fragrant, which at a medium-high heat is for about a minute. Next, toss in the mushrooms; and once they’re shiny, drizzled about two teaspoons of olive oil and put my chicken in per yuge. After the rolling, waxed paper, and covering, I threw it in the oven and poured myself a glass of wine. Once it was done to perfection, I took out the chicken and mushrooms, leaving the onion, garlic and fat in the pan. Bringing that up to a light bubble, I sprinkled in the flour to make a quick roux, then poured in wine and stock. Bubble, bubble, and boil, once the seasoning was corrected, I slathered that red-brown sauce over my happy supremes, served over sauteed kale, and sipped another glass of wine.
My favorite part about this recipe and others like it isn’t just the fact that it’s so simple, it’s the simple pleasure you take in digging into something so good. My husband and I share a love of food, and girl do we love to eat. Seeing the “yum” look on his face after he first bites into a beautifully cooked supreme, dripping with whatever sauce is whipped into shape with that rendered fat and butter, is one of the best sources of accomplishment and satisfaction I could ever ask for. Cooking through different dishes, making them your own, and sharing them with someone you love is what I’m learning cooking is really al about! So, sharpen your knives, pick your favorite foods, and get cookin’!!
