FOND BRUN DE VOLAILLE (BROWN CHICKEN SAUCE)

SOURCE: JEAN VERGNES. A SEASONED CHEF: RECIPES AND REMEMBRANCES FROM THE CHEF AND FORMER CO-OWNER OF NEW YORK’S FAMOUS LE CIRQUE RESTAURANT.

In his autobiography, A Seasoned Chef, Jean Vergnes expressed his unquestionable love and excellence of the saucier station among the French brigade de cuisine dating back to his apprenticeship. Complete mastery of the saucier demands acute precision on the concoction of the complementary sauce in terms of taste, consistency, and delicateness. His recipe for the poultry-based and Madeira-fortified Espagnole sauce perfectly exemplifies how much he excels in this culinary skill. What ingeniously gives the sauce its caramel color are the residues of the chicken carcass frying in its own exuded fat. Try the sauce as an accompaniment to Suprêmes de Volaille Gismonda and be amazed at how it elevates the dish by providing a subtle counterpoint to the void of fat in the chicken, spinach, and mushrooms.

Ingredients

3 pounds/1.4 kg chicken wings, backs, and necks, cut into 2-inch/5-cm segments, skin on and trimmed of excess fat

3/4 cup/110 grams coarsely chopped onions

3/4 cup/96 grams coarsely chopped carrots

3/4 cup/75 grams coarsely chopped celery

6 springs flat-leaf parsley, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1/2 teaspoon/0.5 grams thyme, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1 small bay leaf, preferably Turkish or Greek bay leaf

2 tablespoons/30 grams flour

2 cups/500 mL chicken stock, homemade or store-bought

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons/45 mL Madeira wine

2 tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter

Specific Equipment

Large nonstick skillet

Food mill OR chinois

Small saucepan

Nonreactive bowl

Makes 1 1/2 cups/360 mL

Instructions

1. Place the chicken pieces in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the chicken skin has rendered its own fat and the pieces have browned but not burned.

2. Stir in the onion, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the vegetables have browned.

3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until all pieces are evenly coated. Pour in the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for another 20 minutes, or until the volume has slightly reduced.

4. Strain the liquid through a vegetable mill or a chinois, pressing the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.

5. Pour the sauce into a small saucepan and stir in 2 tablespoons/30 mL Madeira wine. Bring to a simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Let the sauce cool in a nonreactive bowl to room temperature and chill overnight to congeal off excess fat.

6. Spoon out the fat and discard. Return the sauce to a small saucepan over low heat until the sauce has completely liquified. Remove the saucepan from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon/15 mL Madeira wine and swirl in the butter.