Poulet Rôti
with Creamy Morel & White Wine Sauce
Inspired by the roast chicken with morels and Vin Jaune sauce at Chez Rose in Mayfair, this is my simplified home version. Crisp-skinned roast chicken with herb butter, a rich, creamy morel and white wine sauce, skinny fries and a sharp green salad with Parmesan.
Serves 4
Tips & Tricks:
Free range chicken. A recipe like this deserves the best chicken you can afford! You don’t have to go crazy, but go for something free range and ideally from the butchers. I like to use these ‘Poulet Jaune’ chickens, which I buy online from Thomas Joseph Butchers and get delivered.
Dry-brine the chicken 24–48 hours ahead if you can. It’s not essential, but salting it in advance seasons the meat more thoroughly and helps dry the skin for a crisper roast.
Put most of the herb butter under the skin. It bastes the meat directly and keeps the breast juicy without loading the outside with too much butter.
Keep the chicken juices, lose most of the fat. Deglazing the roasting tin captures all that concentrated chicken flavour, but allowing the liquid to settle before skimming off the rendered fat prevents the finished sauce becoming greasy.
Use temperature rather than time for the chicken. The exact roasting time will vary according to the size of the bird and your oven. Always use a temperature probs for precise cooking. (Timings on the packets of chickens can be WILDLY off in my experience)
Alternative to morels: If you can’t find morels, I’ve tried this exact recipe without them and it’s different, but still delicious. Slice and pan fry 125g chestnut mushrooms with your shallots, then use 10–15g / ⅓–½ oz dried shiitake mushrooms (also soaked) instead of the morels and continue the rest of the method as below.
Ingredients.
Chicken:
1 whole free-range chicken, around 1.5–1.7kg / 3.3–3.75lb
1 tbsp fine sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Compound Butter:
100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
Small handful fresh thyme, very woody stems removed
Small handful fresh parsley, stalks included
2 garlic cloves
½ tsp fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cavity:
5 garlic cloves, whole
½ lemon
Small handful fresh thyme
Sauce:
20g / ¾ oz dried morel mushrooms, I buy these from Amazon
250ml / 1 cup just-boiled water
30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 shallots
180ml / ¾ cup dry white wine
30ml / 2 tbsp Madeira
250ml / 1 cup good-quality chicken stock
150ml / ⅔ cup double/heavy cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red wine vinegar, to taste
1 small knob cold unsalted butter, to finish
Salad:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp neutral oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated
Parmesan, freshly grated, to finish
To Serve:
500–600g / 18–21 oz frozen skinny fries
Cooking spray
Sea salt
Equipment.
Roasting pan
Food processor
Air fryer/Oven
Saucepan/saucier
Kettle
Temperature probe
Butchers twine/string
Sieve
Measuring jug
Method.
Dry-brine the chicken . Between 24 and 48 hours before you plan to cook the chicken, remove any string. Mix the salt with the black pepper and rub it evenly all over the chicken. Place the chicken uncovered in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. This seasons the meat while helping to dry the skin for a crisper roast.
Bring the chicken to room temperature. Remove the chicken from the fridge around 2 hours before cooking. Wipe away any obvious excess salt and pat the skin thoroughly dry with kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 220°C fan / 240°C conventional / 465°F.
Rehydrate the morels. Place the dried morels in a bowl and pour over 250ml / 1 cup just-boiled water. Leave for 20–30 minutes, or until needed.
Make the compound butter. Add the softened butter, thyme, parsley, garlic, salt and black pepper to a food processor and blitz until well combined. Alternatively, you can finely chop the herbs and garlic and mix everything together by hand.
Butter and truss the chicken. Carefully slide your fingers underneath the skin covering the breasts and tops of the thighs. I like to use gloves for this as it helps stop my nails from accidentally tearing the skin. Push most of the herb butter underneath the skin and massage it across the meat. Rub the remaining butter in a thin layer over the outside of the chicken, including underneath. Place the whole garlic cloves, lemon and thyme inside the cavity. Tuck the wing tips underneath the bird, and bring a long piece of butchers string around the breasts and wings, around the body and up to the drumsticks, securing the ends together and tying tightly.
Insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast without touching bone or going into the cavity.Roast the chicken. Place the chicken breast-side up on a rack set inside a roasting tin and transfer to the centre of the oven. Roast for 15 minutes at 220°C fan / 240°C conventional / 465°F, then reduce the temperature to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional / 400°F. Continue roasting until cooked through, generally another 40–50 minutes for a chicken of this size, although temperature is a much better guide than time. I use a MEATER probe so I can monitor the internal temperature as it cooks. I remove the chicken from the oven at around 68°C / 154°F, then rest it for at least 20 minutes, monitoring the temperature as it rests. The internal temperature will continue to rise due to carryover cooking. For food safety, ensure the chicken reaches 70°C / 158°F for at least 2 minutes, or remains at 65°C / 149°F or above for at least 10 minutes, before serving.
Build the sauce. Finely chop the shallots. Melt the butter in a saucepan or sauté pan over a medium-low heat and add the shallots with a small pinch of salt and cook gently for 5–8 minutes, until completely softened but not coloured.
Reduce the wine and stock. Add the white wine and Madeira, bring to a simmer and reduce by roughly two-thirds. Meanwhile, lift the morels from the liquid and strain the soaking liquor through a sieve. Measure out 150ml / ⅔ cup for the sauce and reserve the remaining liquor for deglazing the roasting tin later.
Pour in the chicken stock and 150ml / ⅔ cup strained morel soaking liquor, and simmer steadily until the liquid has reduced significantly, then turn the heat off until you’re ready to finish it & serve.
Once the chicken is cooked, let it rest. Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and leave it to rest in the roasting tin for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully lift and tip the chicken so that any juices collected inside the cavity run into the roasting tin. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and leave it to continue resting while you finish everything else. Do not cover it, otherwise you’ll ruin the crispy skin. It will stay warmer than you think!
Pour the remaining morel soaking liquor into the roasting tin and scrape up all the browned bits and concentrated chicken juices from the bottom. Pour everything from the roasting tin into a small jug and leave to stand for a few minutes (if the jug isn’t too hot, you can speed this up by popping it in the fridge), allowing the rendered chicken fat to rise to the surface.
Meanwhile, prepare the salad. Whisk the Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and neutral oil together in the bottom of your serving bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Wash and thoroughly dry the little gem leaves, then add them to your bowl, only tossing at the last moment.
Cook the fries. Add the french fries to your air fryer (or oven), spray with oil and season with salt, and cook as per the packet (usually around 18mins)
Finish the sauce. Carefully spoon off and discard most of the fat from the chicken resting juices, then add them to the sauce and tun the heat back up.
Simmer for a few minutes then pass it all through a sieve and return to the pan. Bring back to a simmer and add the morels, simmering for another few minutes. Pour in the double cream and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced slightly, looks glossy and lightly coats the back of a spoon. The important part: taste it! Add a splash of red wine vinegar to balance it, and add a touch more seasoning if necessary. Take off the heat and stir through a knob of butter to finish.
Serve. Carve the rested chicken and arrange on a serving platter. Spoon the morels and creamy sauce around the chicken, keeping as much of the crisp skin exposed as possible. Toss the little gem leaves through the dressing and finish with freshly grated Parmesan. Serve immediately with the hot skinny fries.
