No. 864

Cocks'-Kidneys Villeroi

Rognons de Coq a la Villeroi

Cook some cocks'-kidneys in a mirepoix (No. 419) moistened with mushroom broth; when cold, drain, and dip them in a well reduced and thick allemande sauce (No. 407), into which has been added a little jelly and finely chopped mushrooms, and some chopped parsley; when cold dip in beaten eggs, bread-crumb, and fry to a fine color; dress on a folded napkin in a pyramid form, and decorate with a bunch of fried parsley.

← No. 863 Cocks'-Combs Stuffed, Duxelle Hot Side Dishes No. 865 Colombines of Chicken Livers with Ham →

For the Modern Kitchen

A Villeroi preparation: something already cooked is masked in a stiff sauce, chilled until firm, then crumbed and deep-fried. The whole dish depends on the coating setting hard, so the chilling steps matter more than anything else here.

What the main ingredient actually isIn classical French kitchens rognons de coq means the testicles of the cock, not the kidneys, despite the English translation Ranhofer used. They are a butcher-order item today; a good poultry butcher or a halal or Chinese market may supply them, and lamb or veal sweetbreads take the same treatment if they cannot be had.
Mirepoix, 1894 senseRanhofer's No. 419 is not the modern dice of raw vegetables but a cooking liquor, along the lines of diced carrot, onion, celery and ham or bacon sweated in butter with herbs and a little wine or stock; here the recipe moistens it with mushroom broth. Poach the kidneys gently in it, barely simmering, until just firm, then let them cool in the liquor.
Allemande sauceA velouté (blond roux plus white stock) finished with egg yolks, cream and lemon. It must be reduced far thicker than a pouring sauce here, near the consistency of soft pastry cream, or it will slide off. Once yolks are in, hold it below a simmer.
"A little jelly"Meat aspic — reduced, gelatine-rich veal or poultry stock set firm. Its job is structural: it makes the chilled coating sliceable. A teaspoon or two of powdered gelatine bloomed and stirred into the finished sauce does the same work if you have no aspic on hand.
The hinge: chill twice, hardCoat the cooled kidneys, spread them apart on an oiled tray and refrigerate until the sauce is set solid, at least two hours and preferably longer. Crumb only then, and chill again before frying. Warm Villeroi coating bursts in the fat and the whole thing empties into the fryer.
FryingDeep fat at 350-375F, one to two minutes, just to colour. The interior is fully cooked already; longer only risks splitting the shell.
Fried parsleyDry, curly parsley in flowerets dropped into the same fat for about ten seconds, until it stops hissing and turns vivid green. Drain on paper and salt at once. Wet parsley will spit violently.
Yield and serviceAs written this is one of a run of small hot side dishes within a longer menu; the recipe specifies no quantities. The folded napkin is period presentation for fried items and absorbs fat; a doubled linen cloth on a warm platter still works, or a rack.

A Little History

À la Villeroi is one of the named coatings of the nineteenth-century French repertoire, generally traced to the household of the Duc de Villeroy: an item enrobed in reduced sauce, set cold, then crumbed and fried, so that the sauce becomes the interior of the croquette rather than an accompaniment. Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's in New York, published The Epicurean in 1894 as a complete record of that kitchen, and its hot side dishes lean heavily on organs and offcuts of poultry — combs, livers, kidneys — which arrived in quantity whenever a restaurant cooked birds by the hundred and which cost almost nothing while demanding a great deal of skilled labour. That combination is exactly what a luxury restaurant of the period wanted to advertise. Cockscombs and cocks' kidneys were staples of garnish in the era's grand service.