Pullet Poached in Riesling with Lemon and Horseradish Beurre Blanc by Chef Jacques Reymond
Serves
3-4
Prep
15 mins
Cooking
60 mins
Aurum Poultry Co.’s slow grown pullets have a very firm texture and subtle flavour and are particularly suited for poaching or steaming. This dish is about sweet, sour, acid, bitter, and great balance.
Ingredients
- 1 Slow Grown Pullet Chicken
- 5 fresh bay leaves
- 5 sprigs lemon thyme
- Bunch parsley stalks only
- 1 onion, peeled, spiked with 6 cloves
- 2 celery sticks, halved
- 2 turnips, halved
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2.5 cm fresh ginger stem, peeled, sliced in 3
- 1 birds eye chili, halved lengthways, deseeded
- 250 ml riesling
Sauce
- 4 shallots peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
- 100 ml white wine vinegar
- 50 ml verjuice
- 100 ml lemon juice
- 50 ml white balsamic vinegar
- 50 ml mirin
- 3 lemon grass stems, crushed
- 1 tablespoon horseradish, freshly grated
- 50 ml thickened cream
- 150 g butter, diced
Red cabbage chutney
- ½ red cabbage
- 100 g palm sugar
- 80 ml red wine
- 70 ml red wine vinegar
- 50 g butter, diced
- 2 tablespoon currants
- 1 ½ dried figs cut into small dice
- Chervil to garnish
Method
Clean the pullet and remove the neck. Close the rear cavity with a bamboo skewer to avoid liquids getting inside the bird. Tie the bay, lemon, thyme, and parsley stalks together with some kitchen string into a bouquet garnis. Place in a large heavy-based pot place with the pullet, onion, celery, turnips, garlic, ginger, chili, and half the riesling. Cover with cold water and place on high heat. When the water starts simmering, reduce heat to low and cover it with a cartouche and simmer for 40 minutes. Turn heat off and leave the bird in the liquid until serving.
Sauce
While the pullet is simmering, make the sauce by putting the shallots, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and white wine vinegar into a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Add the verjuice, white balsamic vinegar, mirin, and lemon grass and simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Add the remaining riesling and simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by a third.
Remove from heat, add the horseradish allow to infuse for five minutes. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a container. Add the liquid back to a saucepan over low heat until is 80°C. add the cream, stir, and whisk in the butter vigorously, a little at a time, to create a lovely smooth sauce. Use a stab blender to give you a rich frothy sauce.
Red cabbage chutney
Remove the cabbage’s outer leaves, core, and tough veins and discard. Finely slice the cabbage. Grate the palm sugar into a medium pan over medium heat. When it caramelises deglaze with red wine and vinegar. Add the cabbage and butter, season, and cook gently for 15 minutes or until tender and the liquids have reduced. Add the dried fruits in the final moments of cooking.
To serve, remove the pullet from the poaching liquid. Discard the liquid, herbs and veg. Carve the meat from the bones and lay on a bed of warm red cabbage. Spoon over the sauce and garnish with fronds of chervil.
