Suprême de Volaille Fermière à la Crème (Chicken Breast in Cream)

Name: Suprême de Volaille Fermière à la Crème (Chicken Breast in Cream)
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 whole large (4-pound) chicken, trussed, or legs tied with kitchen string; 2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stock; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 cup light cream; 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; Salt and pepper, to taste; 1 tablespoon white port (optional)

Recipe from Mathieu Viannay

Adapted by Pete Wells

Suprême de Volaille Fermière à la Crème (Chicken Breast in Cream) — Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(117)
Notes: Read community notes

The author Bill Buford adapted this recipe, which he learned while working with the chef Mathieu Viannay at La Mère Brazier in Lyon, France. (Mr. Buford worked with the chef while researching his book “Dirt.”) If you just made a batch of chicken stock, there are few better things to do with it than poaching chicken breasts in it. You get two benefits: white meat that is about as moist and tender as possible, and stock that is stronger than when you started, particularly if you poach the entire bird and save the legs for another night. The goal is to keep the liquid well below boiling; it’s a stove-top approximation of the sous vide technique. —Pete Wells

Featured in: Zooming In on Bill Buford’s Latest Obsession

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:2 servings

1whole large (4-pound) chicken, trussed, or legs tied with kitchen string
2quarts (8 cups) chicken stock
1tablespoon unsalted butter
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
1cup light cream
½teaspoon Dijon mustard
2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1tablespoon white port (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Set the chicken in a large, deep pot. Add the chicken stock, then add enough water to cover the chicken completely. Heat over high until the temperature of the cooking liquid reaches 160 degrees and is hot enough to steam. Cook the chicken until the inner thighs reach a temperature of 145 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, monitoring the temperature and reducing the heat as needed throughout the cooking process to make sure the liquid stays under a simmer. Remove chicken from liquid and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
Step 2
While chicken rests, start the sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the butter and flour over low heat until the mixture melts into a thick, pale roux, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add 3 cups of the hot chicken stock to the roux, whisking constantly over low heat, until roux and the liquid are emulsified. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. (Let the remaining stock cool, then refrigerate or freeze for future use.)
Step 3
Meanwhile, remove the legs (they will not be fully cooked) and set them aside for another use (see Note). Carefully remove the skin from the chicken breasts, then, starting with the pointed end of each breast, separate the breasts from the breastbone, with your thumb if possible (or your knife if necessary), gently moving your thumb down the center bone that separates the two breasts on each side. Using a knife, ensure that you remove the rest of the breast meat (including the filets) from the bone without tearing; remove and discard any membranes from the surface of each breast. (The meat nearest the bone might still be slightly uncooked, but it will cook through in Step 6.)
Step 4
Whisk the cream into the sauce in the saucepan, and continue to cook at a simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and has reduced to about 2½ cups, another 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 5
Whisk in the mustard, then lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the port, if using.
Step 6
Add the breasts to the sauce to reheat, basting them until fully cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer each breast to a warmed plate and slice thickly, if desired. Gently spoon the sauce over the breast to serve.

Tip

You can save the meat from the legs for another use, or refrigerate for 1 or 2 days before enjoying as a separate meal, seared and served with a green salad: In a large skillet, melt ¼ cup butter and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the legs with salt and pepper and sear until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side, using a large spoon to baste the legs with the sizzling butter mixture as they cook.

Ratings

4 out of 5

117 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Juliette3 years ago

Disappointing that the intro and notes don’t point out that the term volaille fermière specifically refers to a high quality free range (or literally “farm”) chicken (also, volaille generically refers to poultry). With a dish like this that focuses so much on the chicken itself, it makes an important difference to use the best quality bird available.

NYNYer3 years ago

I made this last night with great success. I made some changes, so, yes, I'm That Guy™. I poached four boneless chicken breasts in 3 C low-sodium chix stock, divided in two Ziploc bags. Put the bags with the chicken and stock into sous-vide bath at 155 degrees. I think 40 mins would have been enough, I was distracted by a shiny object and left it in for an hour and a half. Chicken was perfect. Sauce deliciously chicken-y. Might add a shallot or nutmeg next time. Super easy.

Echo353 years ago

Mr. Wells, How does the mushroom/breadcrumb stuffing work into the recipe you made with Mr. Buford, especially if you are poaching the bird? Do you make a galantine wrapped in cheesecloth and then poach, (maybe wrapped in cheesecloth)? Details, s’il vous plait. Merci.

Craig Burdick3 months ago

Elegant and really quite simple. The stock is the clincher. Entree made with boneless skinless breasts, but the stock had to be breathtaking, having gone through several iterations of skin, bones and veggies. Patience pays off.

Beth2 years ago

I made this for a weeknight meal, so skipped steps 1 & 3 and simply poached chicken breasts in really good broth. I subbed oat flour to make it gluten free, but might choose a different flour next time as oat did not produce a truly silky finish. I dialed back the lemon juice a bit, to about 1 T. I used just a splash of Graham's 10 year port, as I didn't have white. Pepper added with chopped parsley as a finish so sauce retained its unblemished, creamy look.

jeffrey3 years ago

Does anyone know if this can served cold? Been stinking hot in Oz and friends coming for dinner.

dgh3 years ago

Delicious! I sautéed some shrooms, garlic and shallots, and served it over some egg noodles. Home run!

Kristen3 years ago

This was great and really easy, no tricky techniques or hard-to-find ingredients. I used six boneless, skinless chicken breasts rather than a whole chicken, so they poached faster and were easier to deal with, but otherwise followed the recipe. I served the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes and garnished the whole thing with a bit of chopped Italian parsley for some color. With a lemony green salad, it was perfect. A huge hit!

Kate3 years ago

Made with skinless boneless breast and homemade chicken stock. Loved it but would make the sauce a little thinner next time and a little zestier (shallots? tarragon?). Since I wasn't doing the whole de-boning thing, it was remarkably quick and easy.

Henry3 years ago

I've never found anything called "light cream" at grocery stores near me (only heavy whipping cream). Is there a substitute or method of making it out of heavier cream?

PeggyB3 years ago

I think half and half is what we call it here.

Scott3 years ago

I'm still alive after making this, but I must confess that I had a lot of doubts about the safety of the technique. Really the problem is not immediately finishing the under-cooked dark portions of the bird; and why use a an entire chicken for this anyway? A whole breast (or two half-breasts), still on the bone, will cook to 165 degrees and strengthen the stock. If you really want stronger stock, throw in the back and other bones; not really necessary since the stock is reduced further anyway.

NYNYer3 years ago

One, Buford sounds nuts. Possibly delightfully so, but nuts. Two, why poach a whole chicken on the stove, keeping it at a precise temperature that is defined by something that is not happening?..."make sure the liquid stays under a simmer." There are probably reasons this is a bad idea, but my thought is put chicken breasts *and* good chicken stock into a ziplock bag -- immerse the bag with the stock and the chicken into a sous-vide bath set to 155 degrees for 40 minutes, proceed from there.

NYNYer3 years ago

Patrick3 years ago

I am concerned about leaving the undercooked legs undercooked for too long. Should they be roasted immediately after retrieving the breasts, or perhaps returned to the pot? Any guidance would be apprecited.

Carole3 years ago

Going to try this today.

Echo353 years ago

NYNYer3 years ago

There are no mushrooms, breadcrumbs, or stuffing in this recipe. The article talks about several dishes. This is the recipe for one of them. De rien.

Juliette3 years ago

Private notes are only visible to you.