Fillet a poularde by splitting the skin up the breast, and passing your
knife down the bone, keeping close to the ribs until you have scooped
them out, then lay them flat on a board, and with a thin knife take off
the inner skin, leaving the upper one untouched; then cut off the legs,
with as much skin as possible attached, bone them, and prepare the
following stuffing: scrape half an ounce of fat bacon, and put it in a
stewpan, with four cloves, a blade of mace, six peppercorns and a
bay-leaf, pass them over the fire five minutes, stirring with a wooden
spoon, take out the spice and bay-leaf, add six large truffles cut in
thin slices, pass them three minutes over the fire, then add twelve
spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), boil altogether ten minutes, keeping
it stirred, season with a little salt, pepper, sugar, and a little
nutmeg; take it off the fire, and stir in the yolk of an egg very
quickly; when cold stuff the legs, braise, and give them the form of
little ducks; then stuff the fillets with the best slices of truffles
under the skin, and put them in a sauté-pan, with half a pound of
butter, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, sauté them
very white over a slow fire, then make a little pyramid of mashed
potatoes in the middle of your dish, lay the two fillets almost upright
against it, opposite to each other, and the two legs on the other sides,
surmount them with a very nice, white, dressed calf’s ear (No. 665) cut
as a frill, with a plover’s egg (shelled) placed in the centre, make a
good stock with the bones of the poularde (see No. 6), skim off all the
fat, and reduce it very nearly to a glaze, then add six spoonfuls of
white sauce (No. 7) and half a gill of cream; boil altogether a minute,
sauce over, and serve. The entrée will stand best upon a pyramid of
mashed potatoes, but a pyramid of forcemeat blanched in stock may be
used.