Purée of Poultry is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic garnish or accompaniment of pureed left-over roast or cooked fowl mixed with a little stock made from the bird's bones and combined with butter, cream and flour to form a thick puree. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Purée of Poultry.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Purée of Poultry that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 120.—PUREE OF POULTRY
Take the remains of roast or boiled poultry from a previous day's dinner, and having removed all the meat from the skin and bones, put these into a small stewpan with a shalot, a bit of celery, a small sprig of thyme, and a gill of stock or water; and while this is gently boiling over the fire, chop fine, and pound the meat from the poultry, in a mortar with a bit of butter, and a spoonful of stock from the bones; and when thoroughly reduced to a pulp, rub this through a hair sieve; put it in a stewpan with the stock from the bones, which must be previously boiled down to less than half a gill; to this add a gill of cream, a very little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a small spoonful of flour; stir over the fire until quite hot, and serve. Note.—This, as well as other purées made from any kinds of meats, may be used for garnishing patties, crôustades, borders of rice or potatoes, and may be also neatly dished up with potato croquettes. Poached eggs and strippets of fried bacon are also admissible as a garnish, and form a very pretty, economical, and delicate entrée. If you have any good white sauce at hand, use this in preference to flour.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
remains of cooked poultry
1 shallot
1 celery stick
1 small sprig of thyme
140ml stock or water
1 tbsp butter
140ml cream
freshly-grated nutmeg, to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp plain flour
Method:
Remove the meat from the carcass and set aside. Separate the bones and skin, add to a pan along with the shallot, celery, thyme and stock (or water). Bring to a gentle boil and cook until the liquid has reduced to about 50ml. Strain and set aside.
In the meantime, finely chop the meat from the bird then pound in a mortar with the butter and 1 tbsp of the stock made from the bones until you have a smooth pulp. Rub this through a fine-meshed sieve then combine in a pan with the cream. Season to taste then beat in the flour. Return to the heat and cook until very hot (but do not allow to boil).
