Lesson #25

Today's demo was one of my favs. Chef made chicken fricasse with tarragon sauce, turned vegetables, Parisian-style gnocchi with bechamel sauce, and an Italian meringue with raspberry jus, poached apples, and French toast.

For the chicken fricasse, we were taught how to cut the chicken. For this dish, the chicken is cooked with the bone, but the bone is removed prior to plating. After cooking the chicken, the remaining bones pull right off of the hot chicken. This was probably one of the most useful things I've learned since I cook chicken quite often at home, and I'm always torn between deboning the chicken before cooking it or not at all.

To cut the chicken into 10 pieces for this dish (after prepping the chicken):

1. Remove the wing tips and reserve for making chicken stock for another recipe.

2. Remove the remaining wing at the 2nd joint.

3. Remove the ends/knuckles with a cleaver, push down the flesh, and remove the small bone.

4. Remove the leg, thigh, and oyster from each side. Run a boning knife along the leg and thigh, then pivot it back and continue to cut through.

5. Separate the leg and thigh by cutting through the knuckle, which you can feel with your fingers.

6. With a cleaver, remove the ends/knuckles of the leg bones and push the flesh back.

7. On the thigh, expose the bone by running your knife along the bone. This will make it easier to remove after cooking. At this point, you can tie the thighs with twine to hold a nicer shape.

8. Remove the neck and the bottom of the carcas from the breast.

9. Remove any protruding ribcage bones.

10. Split open the breast bone by tapping a cleaver in the middle of it (on the back/interior side of the breast).

11. Run your fingers along the breast bone, and pull it out.

It would probably be hard for anyone to follow the steps above without seeing it done, but at least I know I can recall this from memory in case this dish is on the final!

Tarragon is my new favorite spice. It gave the sauce a nice undertone and goes very well with the chicken. The sauce is made like a lot of the other sauces we've made. After browning the chicken, and the pan is brown on the bottom, it is decanted, degreased, and then shallots are added. Next, it is deglazed with white wine, reduced, topped with veal stock and fresh tomatoes are added. Coarse salt and pepper are added along with the chicken pieces. After the chicken is cooked and decanted and after the sauce is reduced, the tarragon is added.

We also made turned vegetables to accompany the dish. For today, we turned carrots and daikon to an olive shape and potatoes into a cocotte shape. I don't yet enjoy turning vegetables but it's growing on me.