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Poule au pot
Stuffed hen with vegetables
Poule au pot béarnaise: stuffed hen poached with leeks, carrots and turnips, served as broth then meat
Poule au pot is the Sunday dish of Béarn in south-west France, linked for centuries with King Henri IV's wish that every peasant family should have a chicken in the pot on Sundays. A hen is filled with a stuffing of bread, Bayonne ham (a cured pork ham), chicken livers, garlic and parsley, then poached slowly with leeks, carrots and turnips. The golden broth is served first as a soup, followed by the sliced bird, stuffing and vegetables with a little coarse salt and mustard or a sauce gribiche. The usual mistake is stuffing the bird too tightly: the stuffing swells and can burst the skin, and a dense centre takes longer to cook through. Chef's tip: sew the neck and tail openings shut, or close them with cocktail sticks, so no stuffing leaks into the broth.
- Total time
- 215 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 5 ½ oz stale white breadcrusts removed, torn
- ½ cup chicken stock or water
- 3 ½ oz Bayonne ham (cured pork) or other dry-cured hamfinely chopped
- 3 ½ oz chicken liverstrimmed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
For the pot
- 4 ⅜ lb boiling hen or large chickengiblets removed
- 16 ¾ cups cold water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 onionstudded with 2 cloves
- 3 leekstrimmed, cut in 8 cm lengths and tied
- 4 carrotspeeled, halved
- 3 small turnipspeeled, halved
- 2 celery stickscut in 8 cm lengths
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What you'll need
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Soak the 5 ½ oz stale white bread in the ½ cup chicken stock or water for 5 minutes, then squeeze it lightly.
5 minStep 2: Mix the bread with 3 ½ oz Bayonne ham (cured pork) or other dry-cured ham, 3 ½ oz chicken livers, 2 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, 1 egg, 1 pinch ground nutmeg and ½ tsp black pepper into a soft, sticky stuffing.
5 minStep 3: Spoon the stuffing loosely into the cavity of the 4 ⅜ lb boiling hen or large chicken; do not pack it. Sew or skewer the openings closed and tie the legs together.
5 minStep 4: Put the hen in a deep pot that fits it snugly with the 16 ¾ cups cold water, 2 tsp salt, 1 onion with its 2 whole cloves and the 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay and parsley stalks). Bring slowly to a simmer over a medium heat, skimming off the foam for the first 10 minutes.
25 minStep 5: Cover partly and keep at a gentle simmer for 1½ hours for a large chicken, or 2½ hours for a tougher boiling hen.
120 minStep 6: Add the 3 leeks, 4 carrots, 3 small turnips and 2 celery sticks and simmer for 35–40 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender to a knife.
40 minStep 7: Check the bird: the thigh meat and the very centre of the stuffing must both reach 165°F. Give it 10 minutes more if they don't.
Step 8: Lift out the hen and vegetables and keep them warm. Skim the fat off the broth and serve it first in bowls.
5 minStep 9: Carve the hen, spoon out the stuffing in slices and serve with the vegetables, a little broth over the top, coarse salt and mustard on the side.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 55 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does poule au pot take?
- About 215 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 180 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of flat-leaf parsley?
- Curly parsley or coriander, same amount.
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