A thing wrapped in a thing wrapped in a thing...and bread.

OK, what you see here is a (chicken) Galantine. It is the first thing we have created in Catering and Buffet, and it's probably the most complicated way I've ever seen what is --essentially-- cold chicken prepared.

You start with an entire chicken. I'm fresh from Meats kitchen so I'm no stranger to poultry in this form. You first remove the wings at the joint, then proceed to take the skin off the chicken IN ONE PIECE. Now this is far from easy. In fact, it's a royal pain in the ass. My partner and I were able to get it done with minimal hole-age, and you're left with what essentially looks like pants...if pants were made from chicken skin. You scrap any excess fat still clinging to the skin off, then fashion the skin into a rectangle shape.

Next you remove the chicken breasts, de-bone them if you still have the leg attached, and then remove the tenderloins from the breasts. If you've ever bought boneless chicken breasts in the store and there was an annoying piece on the bottom of the breasts that easily peels away from the rest of the mass (about the size of a chicken tender), that's the tenderloin.

After removing the tenderloins you set them on a piece of saran wrap that is coated with a seasoning (we used Old Bay). You place the thin ends of the tenderloins together in a way that makes them look like one solid roll, cover them in the old bay, then wrap the saran wrap tightly around them. You essentially are left with what looks like a Tootsie Roll...only it's a tightly-wrapped roll of seasoned chicken tenderloin. You place that in the freezer.

Then you butterfly (cut in half) the breasts, place them between pieces of saran wrap and then pound them flat with a meat mallet. You form a rectangle shape with the breasts (similar to the size/shape of the chicken skin...hmm, maybe I'm going somewhere with this?) before setting those aside.

And then (breath) you remove the thigh's and legs of the chicken. De-bone the thighs and scrape the meat off the legs, then it's off to the meat grinder. You grind the chicken with pork fat (in a 50/50 ratio). You then take the ground meat, mix with with some spices, and put it in a food processor. A little chicken liver is added and you end up with a fine, pâté-like substance. In the pâté you add some garnishes (we used pimentos, apricots, diced ham, mushrooms, pistachios and spinach).

Now comes assembly. You lay out a piece of saran wrap, and place your rectangle of chicken skin on it in an orderly fashion. On top of that you place the layer of pounded, butterflied chicken breast. Inside of that you create a layer of the pâté-like substance. And inside of that, you place your chicken tenderloin roll straight out of the freezer. Roll THAT up correctly, and you have your Galantine.

Pop some foil on the bad boy, poach it in some hot water until it's cooked through (checked via internal temp), then place it in the refrigerator. It's supposed to be served cold.

After slicing the galantine, we then applied a layer of Aspic Gelee (clear, refined protein stock with the properties of Jell-O) to add some flavor and shine to the dish. The gelee is a process in itself, pretty much like applying a few coats of paint with refrigeration for 5-10 minutes in between each coat.

Serve with micro-greens and Cumberland Sauce. End scene.

Whew. What a process, eh? We fabricated the chicken Friday, prepared and cooked the Galantine Monday, then did the whole gelee/plating process today. The end result-- tastes like chicken...but it looks a heck of a lot more interesting for sure. Now that you've read this book of a post, look at the pic again. See the tenderloins in the middle? The pâté (or "force-meat") full of garnishes around it? The chicken breast outer layer? The skin holding it all together?

Crazy. I know...


Oh, and proceeding all of this was Breads. That's Focaccia on the left (same formula as pizza dough, just used bread flour instead of high gluten flour). You generously oil the bottom of a small cake pan, add the dough, dimple the dough for a look on top, apply flavor (that's basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes and caramelized onions on top of mine), some salt, a little more oil-- bake.

What you're left with is an herby, oily bread. Fantastic! I haven't eaten any yet (I will with some leftover spaghetti in the fridge) but it smells delicious.

To the right is a couple of pretzel rolls. There's some resemblance to a pretzel in the shape, but we made ours fatter because --TA-DA!!!-- it becomes perfect to make a sandwich on. That was my breakfast this morning-- salami and provolone on pretzel bread. Good Lord, how tasty.

Wow...what a novel of a post. Thanks for sticking with me to the end. More posts to come as this ridiculous month of food continues. Don't forget to become a follower of the blog!

Later for now...