France and the Alps · Volume 13, Wine, Mustard and the Fifth Quarter
Poulet de Bresse demi-deuil
Bresse
Illustration
The dish most associated with Françoise Fillioux herself, "demi-deuil" meaning half-mourning, for the black truffle slices worked under the skin against the bird's white flesh. Poulet de Bresse's AOC, established in 1957, is the only poultry appellation in France; birds are reared free-range with a minimum ten square metres per bird, finished in an épinette, a small wooden cage, for two to four weeks, a traditional force-finishing method producing the notably tender, fine-grained flesh the appellation is known for.
As tradition built it
Roast around 150°C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 whole Poulet de Bresse
- 25g fresh black truffle, thinly sliced
Method
- Loosen the skin gently over the breast and thighs without tearing it, and work thin slices of fresh black truffle directly beneath, spreading them as evenly as possible so the pattern shows through the skin once cooked.
- Truss the bird and roast low and slow, around 150°C for an hour and a half, basting regularly with its own fat and juices, seasoning deliberately minimally throughout, since the entire point of Bresse chicken is its own delicate flavour and fat structure, which a hard, fast roast or heavy seasoning would simply mask.
- Rest well before carving, and serve the resting juices, barely thickened, alongside rather than over a heavy sauce.
What a modern chef changes
A light brine, indirect Big Green Egg smoke, a separated sous vide leg and an Aligoté jus
Method
- Brine the whole bird lightly for a few hours before slicing the truffle in, for more even seasoning through the flesh without needing to season the surface heavily.
- Roast on the Big Green Egg indirect, with a small amount of fruitwood smoke, at the same low 150°C target, for a genuine outdoor-roast character the appellation's own producers, cooking on French stovetops, do not typically get.
- Pre-cook the leg meat specifically sous vide, separated from the crown before roasting, at 65°C for two hours, since legs and breast cook at meaningfully different rates and a whole-bird roast is always a compromise between the two; finish the legs briefly on the Egg alongside the roasted crown for matching colour.
- Serve with a very light jus built from the reduced roasting juices and a splash of the same Aligoté used elsewhere in this chapter, finished with the barest touch of cold butter, rather than a heavier stock-based sauce that would work against the bird's own delicacy.