“To boyle a capon”
ELINOR FETTIPLACE’S RECEIPT BOOK
Take water & spinage & whole mace, some parselie, & currance & reasins of the Sunne, & boile it till the water be almost boyled away, then put it in some sack & marrow & dates, & whole pepper & ginger grated, & some prunes, & sugar, & boile it all together, when it is boiled enough put a little butter into it, & put it all to the Capon & serve it, put the yolks of two eggs, beaten, into it.
Elinor’s Poached Capon
Description
Of the many recipe in Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, I wanted to interpret this one specifically because it shows a level of sophistication and nuance not always associated with pre-Escoffier culinary arts. This dish presents a rich, balanced, emulsified sauce with bitterness, sweetness, acid, fat, salt, fragrance, and umami all playing their part, and ingredients that clearly contribute each note but still allows the chicken to shine. While the flavors are perhaps not what a modern diner would expect, you can find sauces like this on the menus of fine dining restaurants even now. It uses three techniques specifically that we associate with modern cuisine - reduction, liaison with Egg Yolks, and monter au beurre to finish the sauce with Butter. If one replaced the Water in the initial cooking of the sauce with Stock, this would essentially be a modern sauce.
The truth is, we're given absolutely no directions on how to prepare or blend the ingredients of this sauce. We know that they are boiled together to create a syrup, which also rehydrates all of the fruit and dehydrates the Spinach and Parsley. We know that Sherry and Marrow are then added, and Egg Yolks are used to emulsify the sauce. A cook could choose to chop all of the ingredients very finely from the start and cook them down that way. I suppose a cook could choose to leave all of the ingredients whole, but that seems unappealing both visually and texturally. For my interpretation, I chose to blend the sauce, which leaves us with a beautiful presentation and as its deep color and shine clings to the meat in the dish.
Chicken was a luxury food up until the 20th Century, and Capon - castrated rooster - even more so. Since the chicken is poached ("boyle" of Elinor's time being an extremely gentle cooking method, not the "boil" of today) I chose to use boneless, skinless thigh meat cut into large pieces for the best eating experience. I maintain that people do not want to eat poached chicken skin, and cutting sauced chicken from the bone can be tricky. You could prepare this recipe with any cuts of chicken you like, with or without bones. This recipe would also work beautifully with Seitan, and in which case I would replace the Marrow with additional Butter added at the end. I would poach the Seitan in broth first, and then warm in the final sauce for a few minutes before serving.
This dish is also very well suited for entertaining or for an event. The chicken can be poached in advance and reheated in the same broth before service. The sauce can be made up to the point of blending and stored blended, then easily reheated to finish the dish with the Egg Yolks and the Butter. This is a rich and hearty dish, best served in late Fall or early Winter - and the time when, historically, it was appropriate to cull one's livestock before the hungry months.
Ingredients
Poached Chicken
Sauce
Instructions
Poach the Chicken
-
Cut the Chicken Thighs into large, bite-sized pieces and season with the Poultry Seasoning and first measure of Black Pepper
-
Poach the Chicken Thighs in the Chicken Broth until fully cooked, reaching 165°F internal temperature, then remove and set aside.
If you are a sous-vide enthusiast, this is a perfect opportunity to use that technique. Omit the Chicken Broth and seal your cut and seasoned Chicken Thighs in a bag and immerse at 165°F for about an hour, until fully cooked.
Make the Sauce
-
If you do not have Marrow on hand, you'll need to get marrow bones and soak them in salt water for about an hour. Then roast them at 400°F for about 20 minutes, or until the marrow is golden brown and bubbling.
You can freeze any unused Marrow for future recipes. -
Roughly chop the Dates and Prunes to pieces about the size of the raisins. Chop the Spinach and Parsley as well.
-
Combine the Spinach, Parsley, Prunes, Currants, Dates, Raisins, Marrow, Black pepper, Ginger, Mace, Salt, and Sugar in a small sauce pan.
-
Add just enough Water to the saucepan to fully cover the ingredients. If you are using fresh Spinach, be sure to push the ingredients down.
Adding too much water will not harm the recipe, but it will take you much longer to complete the reduction step. -
Bring the contents of the sauce pot to a simmer and simmer on medium heat until the water is nearly evaporated and just a thin layer of dark, thin syrup remains in the pot. The dried fruits should be fully softened by this point as well.
-
Add the Sherry to the pot, and use an immersion blender to puree the entire contents into a thick sauce.
You can do this carefully in a blender or a food processor as well. -
Take a ladleful of the pureed Sauce and whisk it into your Egg Yolks. Continue adding Sauce to the Egg Yolks little by little until half of the Sauce has been used. Then pour the Egg Yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining Sauce, while whisking continuously.
-
Whisk the combined Sauce over low heat until it reaches between 165°F and 170°F. The sauce should thicken and lighten in color.
Be sure to whisk continuously and keep any sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. -
Turn off the heat and add your Butter to the saucepan in one piece. Gently stir the sauce until the Butter has completely dissolved into it. You should see the sauce remain uniform, but become considerably more shiny as this process continues.
Serve the Dish
-
Add your Chicken to the Sauce, gently folding it together so that the Chicken is fully coated. Remove to a serving dish, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
