No. 1833

Epigrammes of Chicken a la Volnay

Epigrammes de Poulet a la Volnay

Raise the fillets from four chickens, remove the minion fillets and skin, bone thoroughly and stuff the thighs, then put them into half heart-shaped bottomless molds three-eighths of an inch high, braise and leave to cool under the pressure of a weight; pare, dip in eggs and bread-crumbs and fry nicely. Saute the breasts on a moderate fire, drain and dress them in a circle alternated with the thighs, decorate with fancy favor frills (No. 10); and fill the center with a garnishing of whole chestnuts, truffles, mushrooms and cover with veloute sauce (No. 415) that has been thickened at the last moment with egg-yolks and raw cream.

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For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer assumes a brigade, cross-references his own numbered sauces, and gives no quantities or times at all. The dish is really two preparations of chicken served together: boned, stuffed, braised, pressed and breaded thighs, and plainly sautéed breasts.

What an epigramme isIn classical French cookery an epigramme is a pair of contrasting cuts from the same animal on one plate — traditionally one braised and crumbed, one grilled or sautéed. Here the crumbed element is the boned thigh, the sautéed one the breast. The half-heart shape is the visual signature; a plain 3/8-inch ring or a square of parchment folded into a form will do the same work.
The pressing step is the hingeThe braised, stuffed thighs must cool completely under a weight before they are pared and breaded. Warm or unpressed, they will not hold the shape or take a clean crumb coat, and they will fall apart in the fryer. Plan on braising them a day ahead and refrigerating them weighted on a tray.
"Minion fillets"The filet mignon of a chicken is the small tenderloin strip lying under each breast. Ranhofer simply directs that it be removed; one practical effect is that the breast then sautés to an even thickness. Save the strips for forcemeat or the stuffing.
Cooking temperatures the book omitsBraise the thighs at a bare simmer, on the stovetop or in a low oven of around 300–325F, until fully tender. Fry the breaded thighs at 350–360F just to colour and heat through. Sauté the breasts in clarified butter over medium heat; because they are boneless and skinned, they need roughly 4–6 minutes a side, and 165F at the centre is where they should stop.
Velouté finished with a liaisonSauce No. 415 is a velouté — white stock (veal or poultry) thickened with a blond roux. The final enrichment of egg yolks and raw cream is a liaison and must go in off the heat. Once yolks are in, the sauce cannot be allowed to reach a boil or it will curdle into granules.
ChestnutsWhole peeled chestnuts, cooked until just tender in stock so they stay intact. Vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts are an entirely reasonable substitute and save an hour of peeling; canned ones in water are usually too soft to hold up.
"Fancy favor frills"His No. 10 appears to be the paper frill of the kind fitted over an exposed bone end. With the thighs boned there is no bone to dress, so the frills here are table decoration and can be left off without loss.
YieldFour chickens give eight breasts and eight thighs — a circle for eight as a main course, or twelve to sixteen if served as one course of a longer dinner.

A Little History

The dish comes from Charles Ranhofer's The Epicurean (1894), the enormous compendium he assembled from his years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and it shows the house style exactly: everything boned, moulded, pressed and reassembled into a ring with a garnish in the middle. The epigramme format is older than the book and is usually traced to eighteenth-century French practice with lamb, where breast was braised, pressed and crumbed and served against grilled cutlets; the name's origin is disputed and the frequently repeated tale of a hostess mishearing a compliment about epigrams and ordering her cook to produce some should be treated as an anecdote rather than a source. "À la Volnay" points, as many of Ranhofer's suffixes do, at a Burgundian wine commune — many of his titles are commemorative, naming patrons, singers and places rather than describing the cooking. The chestnut-and-truffle garnish under a velouté finished with yolks and cream suits the cold-weather service of a Gilded Age restaurant kitchen with abundant labour.