France’s Love Affair with Poulet
The French think differently about chicken than we do. In our country most people accept that chicken is affordable, readily available, and easy to cook. The taste factor is inconsequential because there usually is none. That’s why we tend to prepare it either fried or smothered in gravy or even better, BBQ sauce. Whereas in France, it’s all about the bird’s pedigree, taste, and selecting the right type for a specific preparation.
When Americans go to the supermarket to purchase chicken, our choice is usually between breasts or thighs, with or without skin. Our French friends, on the other hand, are more precise. First, they determine whether a poulet, poulard, chapon, or pintarde is needed referring to a specific type of fowl. Next, they consider whether the chicken flesh should be yellow or white, and finally, the color of its feet: yellow, black, or blue? In France chicken is a highly respected ingredient. After all, The Gallic rooster, or le coq gaulois, is the symbol of their nation.
Chicken Savoir Faire
Knowing how obsessed the French are with their chicken, this needed to be lesson #1 for my 23-year-old twin goddaughters, Zoe and Mei Carter, who accompanied me to Paris last December. Part of my game plan was to immerse them in French gastronomy as they are both passionate about food. Together we explored open-air food markets as well as small, artisanal specialty food shops. Then we took a deep dive into large grocery stores to study French food preferences and packaging. Zoe and Mei were fascinated with the potato chip aisle where they marveled at exotic flavors such as onion confit, camembert, and “marine-flavored.” Oysters and sea salt, they wondered. French food marketing for sure.
Their favorite supermarket experience was at Picard, the chain specializing in frozen foods. Here, in a pristine white, almost hospital-like environment, they discovered a wide array of iconic French dishes from vichyssoise to pissaladière, and foie gras to tarte tatin. Many of these dishes were even prepared by renown French chefs. A far cry from our frozen chicken nuggets!
Eating our way across town
Our plan was to eat our way across Paris savoring classic French cuisine at simple bistros in addition to fancier restaurants recommended by an array of favorite food critics. Our big treat was Le Tout Paris, LVMH’s new culinary hot spot in le Cheval Blanc, their hotel located along the Seine River. Then, to top off their food experience, Zoe and Mei attended a hands-on class at La Cuisine Paris to learn how to make choux pastries. Day and night, they dreamed of food. As their culinary (and real) godmother with a fetish for French food, I couldn’t have been happier.
To see what Zoe and Mei had learned during this culinary immersion, I decided to test their skills. How would they fare if challenged to prepare dinner for their parents who just happened to be in town? The menu they selected was simple: Braised leeks in a vinaigrette as the starter; Coq au Vin as the main course; and for dessert, Eclairs and Paris Bresse leftover from their cooking class.
Prepping for the challenge
The day before their grand dîner, we headed to the beautiful, bustling Rue de Bretagne, the best food shopping street in the Marais. Recently my neighborhood has undergone gentrification. This includes the arrival of trendy, high end food shops such as macaron specialists, Pierre Hermé and Ladrée. Now Rue de Bretagne is not just a shopping mecca for locals but also a magnet for tourists.
As we already had dessert covered, we bypassed the newcomers’ chic, showy vitrines. Instead, the three of us started our food shopping expedition at La Boucherie du Marais, the popular butcher shop owned by a couple named Jérôme and Valérie. While their shop specializes in top grade meats and charcuterie, they also offer an excellent choice of poultry. Most of it, to the surprise of Zoe and Mei, still had its feathery heads and feet attached.
Keeping the heads and feet
This is quite common in butcher shops in France as locals like to use chicken feet for making stock. Then there’s the question of authenticity. With heads and feet intact, people know what they are buying. For example, if they see blue feet, they know they have selected the king (or queen?) of poultry, a Poulet de Bresse. More on that later.
As always, Jérôme and Valérie’s shop was packed with customers. Behind the counter were four white apron-clad butchers of varying ages, each one busily taking care of demanding clients. In France, butchers are consulted on which piece of meat to purchase as well as how to cook it. But there’s more to the transaction. Besides providing their culinary expertise, somehow French butchers also find the time to dispense local gossip or make random political wisecracks with their loyal clientele. Even if this civility extends the wait time, no one complains. Why? Because customers and shopkeepers are part of an interdependent community based on mutual need and respect. All of this takes time, bien sûr.
Finally, it was our turn. We hit the jackpot. The owner Jérôme would take care of us. While Zoe and Mei admired the choice of poultry options on display, I explained to him that the girls were cooking dinner for their parents. Jérôme was visibly impressed. “What are the young ladies making?” he inquired with a serious look on his ruddy face. I answered Coq au Vin, then asked his advice on what type of bird to use. Without hesitation, he answered a white Label Rouge (Red Label) bird as he pulled a plumb chicken from the case, loped off its head and started cutting the bird into pieces with the same precision and seriousness as a surgeon.
Look for the Label Rouge
In France Label Rouge is a branded designation for organic, free-range chicken which also comes with a quality assurance. The brand includes three breeds: black foot, white foot, and yellow foot, each with a different taste profile. Yellow foot is more tender and has a higher fat content than the others. The white foot has a lighter flavor and the black foot a gamier taste.
Putting the finishing touches on our bird, Jérôme nodded toward the back of the store indicating that I should proceed to la caisse to pay. Before making my way through the crowd of customers patiently waiting their turn, I noticed the owner had pulled out a kitchen blow torch and was quickly removing some of the pin feathers still on the bird’s otherwise pristine, white flesh. The girls gapped! What, a blow torch?
Who’s blocking the door?
At la caisse the owner’s wife Valérie presented me with a bill for 48 Euros. (In France typically the wife, and business partner, collects the money.) I noticed Valérie was quietly grumbling under her breath. Turning around I saw what was making her so agitated: Five young Japanese tourists blocking the store’s entrance. Each with a cell phone in hand, they were making a terrible ruckus giggling hysterically while snapping away at the exotic looking meats and poultry in the butcher’s display case. Fleshy, pink pig ears, snouts, and curly tails. Fully feathered pheasants, just for starters.
Zoe and Mei—both budget-conscious young adults just out of college—commented on our purchase. “You just paid almost $50 for a chicken? We’d normally pay less than $10.00 in Chicago!” When I told them we had dodged a bullet. Had we purchased a Poulet de Bresse, instead of a Label Rouge, it would have been far more expensive.
You get what you pay for
Still not understanding, Mei asked what would make a Poulet de Bresse so special that it would command such an outrageous price. “Pedigree and flavor. Worth every centime, too,” I replied emphatically. I gave a silly analogy explaining that a VW would get you to work. However, if you drove a Maserati—a beautifully engineered luxury vehicle, the best of the best—the trip would certainly be more comfortable, not to mention the impact it would have on your fellow colleagues as you pulled up. All joking aside, there are valid reasons why a Poulet de Bresse is so revered by the food-obsessed French.
Giving pride of place to pedigree poultry
To start with the Poulet de Bresse is a beautiful bird—bright white feathers, a single lipstick-red comb and characteristic slate blue legs. Not only does it look its tri-colored part, but the bird’s quality is unparalleled. This breed of chicken is the only one to have attained the coveted AOC (or appellation of controlled origin) status in 1957 guaranteeing its authenticity, top quality, and provenance. Like a fine AOC wine, the bird must follow a strict protocol which determines how, where, and for how long it is raised before being slaughtered. It also has a POD designation protecting its place of origin. Fancy credentials for a bird, no? Not really considering it represents a mere 0.1% of France’s total productions of chickens. Everyone in France knows the quality of each Poulet de Bresse is beyond reproach and therefore, is prepared to pay top euro for it.
Criteria for being a Poulet de Bresse
Only white chickens of the Bresse de Beny variety which have been raised within a legally-defined area in eastern France—the former province of Bresse—can qualify. Once the Bresse chicks hatch, they are protected in an enclosed environment and fed grain or corn soaked in milk. By law all their feed must be produced locally. After five weeks the chicks are allowed to roam freely in at least 10 square meters of pasture per bird. Then, at 35 days their diet changes. It is kept intentionally low in protein to encourage them to forage in nature for insects and worms. At night the birds are kept in a wooden cage called an épinette where they relax in low-light conditions. When the poulets reach the correct maturity—usually four months for females—they return to the épinette to spend their last two weeks being fed a fattening diet of milk and corn.
To qualify for the AOC status each bird must pass inspection administered by the Centre de Sélection de la Volaille de Bresse before being slaughtered. Then it is processed in a humane manner and checked for any abnormalities. Finally, the bird undergoes roulage. This refers to wrapping the Bresse, head and feet intact, in a special white linen cloth which is tightly stitched to keep air out and which also helps evenly distribute the bird’s fat. In addition to its AOC and POD certificates, every Bresse chicken wears a metal ring on its left leg with the name of one of the region’s 200 producers.
One-of-a kind breed
The Poulet de Bresse is like no other breed in the world. Its thin bones account for a higher meat-to-bone ratio than that of traditional chickens. What’s more, its unique genetic lineage helps it metabolize food in a way which produces a magic combination of fat and marbling. This accounts for its inimitable texture and flavor profile. Food experts describe it as having a stronger taste than industrially raised chicken, almost to the point of gamey, plus a firmer texture.
Naturally, all of this comes at a price. In fact, Poulet de Bresse is the world’s most expensive bird. Today it commands 30-40 Euros a kilo at retail. This is twice as expensive as a Label Rouge certified free range chicken, a good quality reference.
Tips for preparing the world’s most expensive bird
How do experts recommend cooking the most extravagant and sought after chicken on the planet? Considering that a Bresse chicken is a big animal with powerful muscles, it’s critical not to overcook it. Otherwise, the bird risks becoming dry and tough. The classic method for making this delicacy is A la crème. This is a simple preparation where the chicken is sautéed with the addition of white wine, broth, and caramelized mushrooms, preferably morels, then finished off with heavy cream.
However, the three-star chef Antoine Westermann—the man who created a restaurant where chicken reigns supreme—has a different approach. At Coq et Fils, his chicken-centric restaurant in Montmartre, Westermann first poaches the whole bird for 30 minutes in a broth with a few vegetables. Then he puts it on a rotisserie rack and spit roasts it for approximately 40 more minutes. The result? A divinely tasty, tender, and succulent chicken with crispy skin. The price of a two-kilo (4.4 pound) AOC Volaille de Bresse, 120 days old, is 167 euros or $180. Of course, this dish can be shared and comes with four side dishes including, believe it or not, mac & cheese.
Location, location, location
A piece of good news: The Bresse breed has made its way to America. While we will never be able to find an authentic Poulet de Bresse on our shores, a few select chicken farmers in our country are following the same strict protocol as in France to raise this new heritage breed. So be on the lookout for American Bresse chicken at your specialty butcher shop or on-line. It may just be the next best thing for chicken lovers to crow about.